Breakdown of Моя бабушка ухаживает за огородом каждое утро.
мой
my
каждый
every
утро
the morning
бабушка
the grandmother
ухаживать за
to take care of
огород
the garden
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Моя бабушка ухаживает за огородом каждое утро.
What does the verb ухаживать mean, and why is it used here in the present tense?
Ухаживать translates to “to take care of” or “to tend to.” In this sentence, it’s in the present tense because it describes a habitual, ongoing action performed every morning. The imperfective aspect of the verb emphasizes the regularity and continuous nature of the activity.
Why is огородом in the instrumental case rather than in the accusative?
After the verb ухаживать, the preposition за is used to introduce the object being cared for, and it requires the noun to be in the instrumental case. That’s why огород becomes огородом—it shows that the garden is the thing being tended to.
How does the possessive adjective моя agree with the noun бабушка?
In Russian, adjectives—including possessive ones like моя—must match the noun in gender, number, and case. Since бабушка is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case, моя is also in the feminine singular form, meaning “my.”
What is the role and placement of каждое утро in the sentence?
Каждое утро means “every morning” and functions as an adverbial phrase of time. Placed at the end of the sentence, it clarifies when the action of taking care of the garden occurs. Although Russian word order is flexible, this placement emphasizes the habitual nature of the activity.
Why is the imperfective aspect used for ухаживать instead of a perfective form?
The imperfective aspect is used because the sentence describes a repeated, habitual action rather than a single, completed event. By using ухаживать in its imperfective form, the sentence conveys that the action of caring for the garden takes place regularly every morning.
Can the word order of the sentence be rearranged without changing its meaning?
Yes, Russian allows for relatively free word order. For example, you could say Каждое утро моя бабушка ухаживает за огородом or Ухаживает за огородом моя бабушка каждое утро. While the core meaning remains the same, different orders can subtly shift the emphasis—for instance, placing the time expression first might stress the regularity of the routine more.