Breakdown of В этом месяце я не могу пойти в театр.
я
I
это
this
в
to
в
in
пойти
to go
не
not
месяц
the month
мочь
to be able to
театр
the theater
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Questions & Answers about В этом месяце я не могу пойти в театр.
Why is в этом месяце used instead of этот месяц, and how is it formed?
In Russian, to say “during/in this month” you use в + prepositional case. For masculine nouns and their demonstratives:
- месяц → месяце (prepositional singular adds -е)
- этот → этом (demonstrative pronoun in prepositional) So в этом месяце literally means “in this month,” answering “when?”
Why is пойти in the infinitive after могу, and why not идти or ходить?
- After a modal verb like мочь (“can/be able”), the main verb is always in the infinitive: могу пойти = “I can go.”
- Russian motion verbs have different aspects and directions:
- идти (imperfective, one‑way, ongoing)
- ходить (imperfective, multidirectional or habitual)
- пойти (perfective, start of motion or single trip)
- сходить (perfective, “go and come back”)
Since here you mean “go once to the theater,” the perfective infinitive пойти is the correct choice.
Why is the negative particle не placed before могу, and what would я могу не пойти mean?
- не могу negates your ability: я не могу пойти = “I can’t go.”
- If you instead say я могу не пойти, you negate the action, not the ability: “I can choose not to go.” The focus shifts from “cannot” to “have the option not to.”
Why is it в театр and not в театре?
- в + accusative expresses movement toward or into a place. Here you’re talking about going into the theater → в театр.
- в + prepositional expresses location (“in/at a place”), e.g. я в театре = “I’m at the theater.”
Could I use я не смогу пойти в театр в этом месяце instead of я не могу? What’s the difference?
- смочь is the perfective counterpart of мочь. Its future form я не смогу also means “I will not be able to.”
- я не могу (present tense) often covers the near future and sounds more neutral or conversational (“I can’t (this month)”).
- я не смогу is a bit more formal or decisive about a future inability.
What’s the difference between я не могу пойти and я не пойду?
- я не могу пойти = “I can’t go” (lack of ability, time, money, etc.).
- я не пойду = “I won’t go” (a decision or refusal, regardless of ability).
Can в этом месяце be placed at the end of the sentence? Does word order matter?
Yes. Russian word order is flexible. You can say:
- Я не могу пойти в театр в этом месяце.
Moving в этом месяце to the end shifts the emphasis slightly onto the timing, but the core meaning— inability to go this month— remains the same. Starting with в этом месяце simply highlights the time first.