Breakdown of Библиотека была построена в 1950 году и несколько раз ремонтировалась.
в
in
быть
to be
и
and
год
the year
библиотека
the library
построить
to build
1950
1950
несколько
several
ремонтироваться
to be renovated
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Библиотека была построена в 1950 году и несколько раз ремонтировалась.
What is the structure была построена and why is it used instead of a direct verb like построили?
была построена is a past passive construction formed by the auxiliary verb быть in the past tense plus the past passive participle of построить. We use it to put библиотека as the focus (“the library was built”) without naming who built it. If you said построили, you’d need a subject (for example, их построили – “they built it”).
How is the past passive participle построена formed, and why does it end in -ена?
The full passive participle of построить is построенный/построенная/…, but in short form you drop -ый/-ая and get построен/построена/построено/построены. Since библиотека is feminine singular, we use построена.
Why do we say в 1950 году and why is год in the prepositional case?
To indicate when something happened, Russian uses в + prepositional case for years: в 1950 году = “in the year 1950.” In colloquial speech you might also hear в 1950-м, but the full form uses году.
Why isn’t there a comma before и in this sentence?
There’s no comma because была построена and ремонтировалась are two homogeneous predicates sharing the same subject (библиотека) and connected by a single coordinating conjunction и. Russian punctuation does not require a comma in that case.
What does несколько раз mean, and why is раз in its singular form?
несколько раз means “several times” or “a few times.” With the quantifier несколько, раз often stays in the singular (rather than a plural) for the neutral standard expression. You might occasionally hear несколько разов, but несколько раз is preferred.
Why is the verb ремонтировалась reflexive (with -ся)?
Adding -ся to ремонтировать turns it into a middle or passive form: библиотека ремонтировалась literally “the library was getting repaired” or “underwent repairs,” without naming who did the repairs.
Why is ремонтировалась in the imperfective aspect rather than a perfective like отремонтировалась?
Because the repairs happened repeatedly (несколько раз), the imperfective aspect is required to express multiple or habitual actions. The perfective отремонтировалась would emphasize a single completed repair.
Could you use a perfective passive like была отремонтирована instead?
You could say была отремонтирована to highlight completion of one repair, but for several repairs it’s more natural to keep the imperfective reflexive (ремонтировалась). Saying несколько раз была отремонтирована is grammatically correct but heavier in style.
Is it mandatory to include была? Can you just say Библиотека построена в 1950 году?
No, in standard written or formal style you may drop the auxiliary была and simply say Библиотека построена в 1950 году. The short passive participle построена already implies past time; adding была just underlines it further.
Can the word order change, for example В 1950 году библиотека была построена…?
Absolutely. Russian word order is flexible. Fronting в 1950 году emphasizes the time. The meaning stays the same.