Learn Hardcore Russian: Итак, новый мост будет построен к концу месяца. - So, the new bridge will be built by the end of the month.

Итак literally means “so,” “thus,” or “now then.” It’s a discourse marker that signals you’re drawing a conclusion, summarizing what’s been said, or shifting to a new point. In English you might say “Alright, so…” at the start of a statement.

Why is the verb phrase будет построен used instead of a simple active future like построят?

Будет построен is the future passive construction: будет (future tense of “to be”) + the past passive participle построен (“built”). It focuses on what will happen to the bridge, not who will build it. Построят мост к концу месяца would be an active plural form (“they will build the bridge…”), which shifts the emphasis onto the agents.

How do you form the passive voice in Russian?

The typical pattern is:

A form of быть (be) in the required tense
- past passive participle of the main verb

Example in future: будет + построен = “will be built.” In past you’d use был построен (“was built”).

Why is построен used instead of the infinitive построить?

Because we’re not expressing intention (“to build”) but rather a passive description (“will be built”). The infinitive построить names the action itself, whereas построен is a participle describing the state/result in passive voice.

What aspect is shown by построить/построен, and why is it used here?

Построить is perfective, indicating a completed action. Using its participle построен plus future будет signals that the bridge’s construction will be finished by a certain point. An imperfective form (строиться, будет строиться) would emphasize the ongoing process rather than completion.

Why is it к концу месяца and not до конца месяца?

До + genitive often means “before” in a general sense (“before the end of the month” = any time up until then). К + dative implies “by” or “towards” a deadline, focusing on reaching the endpoint (“by the end of the month”).

How do the cases work in к концу месяца?

к requires the dative: конец → концу.
The word месяц answers “конец чего?” (“end of what?”), so месяца is genitive singular.

Hence: к (to) концу (dative of “end”) месяца (genitive of “month”).

Why is the adjective новый placed before мост, and does word order matter here?

Standard Russian word order for attributive adjectives is adjective + noun: новый мост (“new bridge”). You could move it for emphasis (e.g., мост новый), but that sounds stylistically marked. The default order is fine for neutral statements.

Is there an implicit subject or agent in this passive sentence?

No explicit agent is named. In passive constructions like будет построен, the doer is omitted or can be added with кем (“by whom”), e.g., будет построен к концу месяца строителями (“will be built by the builders”). Here the focus is purely on the bridge and its completion time.