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Breakdown of Идите прямо, пока не увидите магазин на углу.
на
on
идти
to go
магазин
the shop
угол
the corner
увидеть
to see
прямо
straight
пока
until
Questions & Answers about Идите прямо, пока не увидите магазин на углу.
What is Идите in this sentence?
Идите is the 2nd person plural imperative form of the verb идти (“to go, to walk”). It literally means “go” or “walk.” In Russian, this form is used both when addressing a group and as a polite way to give a command to one person.
Why is прямо placed after Идите and not before it?
Word order in Russian is relatively flexible, but the neutral or most common order for a verb plus an adverb of direction is Verb → Adverb. Putting прямо (“straight”) after Идите emphasizes the action first and then the manner/direction. You could say Прямо идите, but it sounds stilted or poetic; Идите прямо is more natural.
What does пока не mean here? How is it different from just пока?
- пока by itself usually means “while.”
- пока не
- verb means “until [you do something].”
In this sentence, пока не увидите translates as “until you see.”
- verb means “until [you do something].”
Why is there a не before увидите?
In the construction пока не + [verb], не is not negating “see” in the usual sense. Instead, пока не увидите is a fixed pattern meaning “until you see.” You do not translate the не as “not” here; it’s part of expressing “until.”
Which case is магазин in, and why?
магазин is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of увидите (“to see”). Since магазин is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form looks identical to the nominative.
What case is углу in, and why is it углу instead of угле?
углу is the so-called locative (or second prepositional) case used after certain prepositions of location, like в or на, when indicating “where.” In modern Russian, some words take this special form (в саду, на мосту, на углу) instead of the regular prepositional (в саде, на мосте, в угле). Here на углу means “on the corner.”
Why is there a comma before пока?
The comma marks the beginning of a subordinate clause of time (пока не увидите магазин на углу). In Russian, as in English, you generally separate the main clause from a dependent clause introduced by words like пока, когда, если.
Could I say Идите прямо до магазина на углу instead of using пока не увидите?
Yes, you can.
- Идите прямо до магазина на углу literally means “go straight until (you reach) the store at the corner.”
- до
- genitive (магазина) expresses “up to” a point.
- пока не увидите
- accusative (магазин) expresses “until you see the store.”
Both are correct; the difference is stylistic and very slight. In spoken directions, both forms are used.
- accusative (магазин) expresses “until you see the store.”
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