Breakdown of В аптеке можно купить лекарство.
купить
to buy
в
at
лекарство
the medicine
аптека
the pharmacy
мочь
to be able to
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Questions & Answers about В аптеке можно купить лекарство.
Why is аптеке in the prepositional case?
Because the preposition в when indicating location (“in” somewhere) governs the prepositional case. The base noun аптека (pharmacy) becomes аптеке to show “in the pharmacy.”
What role does можно play in this sentence?
можно is an impersonal modal word meaning “it is possible” or “one can.” It doesn’t change with person or number and introduces the idea that buying medicine is allowed or possible.
Why is the verb купить in the infinitive rather than a conjugated form?
After impersonal modals like можно, Russian uses the infinitive of the main verb. There is no explicit subject, so you don’t say “you buy” or “I buy,” but simply “to buy” (купить) to express the potential action.
Why is лекарство singular here? Can I talk about multiple medicines?
лекарство often functions as a mass noun (“medicine” in general), and is used in the singular. If you want to emphasize distinct items or different kinds, you can say лекарства (“medicines”) or more precisely лекарственные препараты. For counting pills you’d typically specify таблетки (tablets).
Russian has no articles like “a” or “the.” How do we know if it’s “a medicine” or “the medicine”?
Correct—Russian lacks articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context, intonation, or added words (e.g. это лекарство for “this medicine”). In isolation, лекарство simply means “medicine” without specifying “a” or “the.”
Could I say Можно купить лекарство в аптеке instead? Does word order matter?
Yes, you can. Russian word order is quite flexible:
- В аптеке можно купить лекарство (focus on location).
- Можно купить лекарство в аптеке (neutral statement, location after). Neither version is wrong; the fronted element receives extra emphasis.
Why is the perfective infinitive купить used instead of the imperfective покупать?
The perfective купить expresses the idea of completing the action of purchase (“to buy [and finish buying]”). If you wanted to talk about the ability to buy repeatedly or habitually, you could use imperfective: можно покупать лекарство. But for a one‑off purchase, perfective купить is standard.
Does можно always require an infinitive, or are there exceptions?
Generally можно is followed by an infinitive to indicate possibility. If you need to specify who can do it, you often add кому in dative: Тебе можно купить лекарство (“You are allowed to buy medicine”). But the verb remains in the infinitive.