Breakdown of Сегодня вечером я иду в кино с друзьями.
друг
the friend
я
I
с
with
в
to
вечер
the evening
идти
to go
сегодня
today
кино
the cinema
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Questions & Answers about Сегодня вечером я иду в кино с друзьями.
What does Сегодня вечером mean, and why is вечером in the instrumental case?
Сегодня вечером translates to “this evening” in English. The word вечером is the instrumental form of вечер, and Russian often uses the instrumental case with time expressions (like вечером, утром, or ночи) to indicate “in the [time period].”
What does the verb иду indicate, and why is it in the present tense when referring to a future event?
Иду is the first person singular present tense of the verb идти (to go). Although it is in the present tense, Russian frequently uses the present tense to describe near-future plans, especially when the context (here, Сегодня вечером) makes it clear that the action is about a planned future event.
What is the role of the preposition в in в кино?
In the phrase в кино, the preposition в means “to” and is used with the accusative case to indicate movement toward a destination. So, в кино means “to the cinema.”
Why is the phrase с друзьями used, and what case is друзьями in?
С друзьями means “with friends.” The word друзьями is in the instrumental case, which is typically used in Russian after the preposition с to denote accompaniment or the company one keeps.
Can иду be replaced with пойду in this sentence, and what difference does that make?
Yes, you can say Сегодня вечером я пойду в кино с друзьями. The verb пойду is the future form (perfective aspect) of идти and emphasizes the completion or the decision of the action. While both иду (imperfective, present tense used for the near future) and пойду (perfective, future tense) express a future plan, using иду is very common in everyday Russian to indicate such planned events without additional nuance.