Однако завтра я смогу купить билеты.

However, tomorrow I will be able to buy tickets.

Breakdown of Однако завтра я смогу купить билеты.

• я: I
• купить: to buy
• завтра: tomorrow
• билет: the ticket
• однако: however
• смочь: to be able

Questions & Answers about Однако завтра я смогу купить билеты.

What does Однако mean here, and why is it used at the beginning of the sentence?

Однако is a formal conjunction meaning “however” or “nevertheless.” Placed at the start, it signals a contrast with something mentioned before. In everyday speech you might use но instead, but однако adds a slightly more literary or emphatic tone.

Why is завтра positioned before я смогу купить? Does word order matter?

Russian word order is quite flexible. Putting завтра at the very start emphasizes the time (“as for tomorrow…”). You could also say: • Я завтра смогу купить билеты.
• Я смогу купить билеты завтра.
All three mean “I will be able to buy tickets tomorrow,” but moving завтра changes the focus slightly.

What is смогу, and why isn’t it just могу?

Смогу is the first‑person singular future tense of the perfective verb смочь (“to be able to” with a sense of achieving that ability).
• мочь (imperfective) → я могу (I can, now)
• смочь (perfective) → я смогу (I will be able, at a future point)

Imperfective мочь doesn’t form a simple future on its own, so you use смочь for “can” in the future.

Why use купить instead of покупать?

Russian verbs have two aspects: • купить (perfective) = to buy (to complete the purchase)
• покупать (imperfective) = to be buying / to buy habitually

Because you mean “complete the buying” tomorrow, you choose the perfective купить. With perfective infinitives you can combine them with a modal future like смогу.

Why are there two verbs (смогу купить) in one sentence?

Russian expresses modal ideas (can/must/should) by pairing a modal verb with an infinitive: • смогу (modal, “be able to”)
• купить (infinitive, “to buy”)
Together смогу купить = “will be able to buy.”

What case is билеты in, and why?

Билеты is in the accusative plural because it’s the direct object of купить. For inanimate masculine nouns like билет, the accusative form is identical to the nominative: • Nominative plural билет → билеты
• Accusative plural билет → билеты

Where is the stress in смогу and билеты?

• смогу́ – stress on the second syllable: [smɐˈɡu].
• биле́ты – stress on the second syllable: [bʲɪˈlʲetɨ].

Can you drop the pronoun я in this sentence?

Yes. Russian often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. So you can say: • Однако завтра смогу купить билеты.
It still clearly means “However, tomorrow I will be able to buy tickets.”