Breakdown of Мы гуляли по лесной дорожке во время пикника.
мы
we
гулять
to walk
по
along
дорожка
the trail
во время
during
пикник
the picnic
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Questions & Answers about Мы гуляли по лесной дорожке во время пикника.
What does the verb гуляли mean, and why is it used in the past tense?
Гуляли is the past tense, plural form of гулять, which means “to go for a walk” or “to stroll.” In this sentence, it tells us that we were taking a walk in the past. The form also implies a continuous or habitual action during that time.
Why is the preposition по used with лесной дорожке, and which case is it taking?
The preposition по is commonly used in Russian to express movement along or across a surface. When used in this context, it requires the noun to be in the dative case. That’s why лесной дорожке is in the dative—it indicates that the walking took place along the forest path.
What is the role of the phrase во время пикника, and what case is пикника in?
The phrase во время пикника functions as a time modifier, specifying when the walking happened—namely, “during the picnic.” The construction во время always requires its noun to be in the genitive case, so пикника is the genitive form of пикник.
How do the adjectives and nouns agree in terms of case and number in this sentence?
In лесной дорожке, the adjective лесной is in the dative feminine singular form to agree with дорожке (the dative form of дорожка). This shows proper agreement in both gender and case. Similarly, the noun пикника is in the genitive singular as required by the prepositional phrase во время, ensuring that all parts of the sentence follow the rules of noun-adjective and prepositional complement agreement.
What significance does the placement of по лесной дорожке and во время пикника have in the sentence?
The placement of these prepositional phrases helps structure the sentence by clearly indicating the location and the time of the action. По лесной дорожке immediately follows the verb to specify where the walking took place, while во время пикника at the end of the sentence emphasizes when the action occurred. This word order, though flexible in Russian, aids clarity and reflects a natural progression from action to location to time.