Я слушаю красивую мелодию в саду.

I am listening to a beautiful melody in the garden.

Breakdown of Я слушаю красивую мелодию в саду.

• я: I
• в: in
• красивый: beautiful
• слушать: to listen
• сад: the garden
• мелодия: the melody

Questions & Answers about Я слушаю красивую мелодию в саду.

Why is мелодию used instead of мелодия in the sentence?

Because мелодия is the direct object of the verb слушаю (“to listen”). In Russian, objects affected by the action take the accusative case, and for this feminine noun the accusative singular form is мелодию rather than мелодия.

Why does the adjective appear as красивую instead of another form?

In Russian, adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. Since мелодия is a feminine noun appearing in the accusative singular, красивый becomes красивую. This ending reflects the standard agreement for feminine nouns in the accusative case.

What is the form and function of в саду in this sentence?

The phrase в саду means “in the garden” and indicates location. Although the preposition в typically takes the prepositional case, some masculine nouns like сад use a special locative variant—саду—when referring to a specific location. This is why the sentence uses в саду.

What is the overall word order of the sentence and is it similar to English?

The sentence follows a typical structure: subject (Я), verb (слушаю), object (красивую мелодию), and then a locative phrase (в саду). This SVO order (subject–verb–object) is quite similar to English. Though Russian word order can be flexible, this straightforward sequence is common and easy to follow.

What tense is the verb слушаю and how does Russian express ongoing actions compared to English?

Слушаю is in the present tense. Unlike English, which often distinguishes between the simple present (“I listen”) and the present continuous (“I am listening”), Russian uses the simple present to express actions happening at the moment. Context usually clarifies whether the action is habitual or currently ongoing.

Why are there no articles (like “a” or “the”) before nouns in this sentence?

Russian does not use articles in the same way English does. Nouns appear without any articles, and the intended meaning is inferred from context. The absence of an article before красивая мелодию is completely normal in Russian.