Движение в городе медленное.

in

Breakdown of Движение в городе медленное.

• город: the city
• движение: the traffic
• медленный: slow

Questions & Answers about Движение в городе медленное.

What is the overall grammatical structure of the sentence Движение в городе медленное?

The sentence consists of a subject, a prepositional phrase, and a predicate adjective. Движение is the subject. В городе is a prepositional phrase indicating location, and медленное is the predicate adjective describing the subject. Note that there’s no explicit verb like “is”—in Russian’s present tense, the copula is typically omitted.

Why is there no verb equivalent to “is” in this sentence?

In Russian, the present tense form of the verb “to be” (есть) is usually left out. This omission is standard practice when stating characteristics or conditions. So instead of saying “Движение в городе есть медленное,” it is both grammatically correct and more natural to say “Движение в городе медленное.”

Why is the adjective медленное in the form it appears?

The adjective медленное is in the neuter nominative singular form. It agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun движение, which is a neuter noun. Adjectives in Russian change their endings to reflect these grammatical features of the noun they modify.

What role does the prepositional phrase в городе play, and how is it constructed?

The phrase в городе indicates where the movement takes place. The preposition в means “in,” and it requires the noun город to be in the prepositional case, which changes город to городе. This construction shows the location, a common pattern in Russian when specifying where an action or state occurs.

How should I interpret the word движение in this context?

Although движение literally translates to “movement,” in this context it often refers to the flow of traffic or general movement within the city. Understanding the specific context helps clarify that the sentence is describing slow traffic or movement in the city.

How does this sentence illustrate key aspects of Russian grammar that are useful for language learners?

This sentence demonstrates several important points:
• The omission of the present-tense copula “to be” is standard in Russian.
• Adjectives must agree with their corresponding nouns in gender, number, and case (here, neuter nominative).
• Prepositional phrases like в городе are essential for indicating location, with the noun following the appropriate case rules.
Grasping these elements helps learners build more complex sentences and deepens their understanding of Russian grammatical structures.