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Questions & Answers about Я читаю журнал в кафе по понедельникам и пятницам.
What case is the noun журнал in this sentence, and why is it unchanged from the dictionary form?
журнал is in the accusative singular. In Russian, inanimate masculine nouns have the same form in the nominative and the accusative, so журнал looks identical to its dictionary (nominative) form. Here it functions as the direct object of читаю (“I read”).
Why do we say в кафе and which case is кафе?
The preposition в with a static meaning (“inside” or “at”) takes the prepositional case to indicate location. кафе is an indeclinable neuter noun, so its prepositional form is identical to its nominative form, кафе. Thus в кафе means “in/at the café.”
What does the prepositional phrase по понедельникам и пятницам mean, and why is по used?
по + dative plural expresses a habitual or recurring schedule. по понедельникам и пятницам literally means “on Mondays and Fridays,” understood as “every Monday and every Friday.” The days понедельник and пятница are both put into the dative plural (понедельникам, пятницам) because of по.
Why are понедельникам and пятницам in the plural? Shouldn't each day be singular?
In Russian, to talk about repeated events on a given weekday, you use по + the dative plural of the weekday. The plural here doesn’t mean “several Mondays at once” but rather “every Monday” over time.
Could I say каждый понедельник и каждую пятницу instead of по понедельникам и пятницам?
Yes.
– Каждый понедельник и каждую пятницу uses каждый/каждую + accusative singular (masculine for понедельник, feminine for пятница) and also means “every Monday and every Friday.”
– По понедельникам и пятницам is more idiomatic when listing multiple weekdays, and it’s shorter.
How would you say “I read a magazine in the café every day” using a similar structure?
You can use каждый день for “every day”:
- Я читаю журнал в кафе каждый день.
If you meant “on weekdays,” you could say: - Я читаю журнал в кафе по будням.
Is there any nuance between в понедельник and по понедельникам?
Yes:
- в понедельник (prepositional with в) refers to a single occurrence “on Monday.”
- по понедельникам (dative plural with по) refers to a habitual action “on Mondays.”
Why doesn’t the preposition в ever take the dative plural here, since дни are locations of an action?
Preposition choice depends on meaning. в with static location takes the prepositional case (e.g. в кафе). But to express repetition “on certain days,” Russian uses по + dative plural. There is no overlap in function, so you wouldn’t say в понедельникам.