Breakdown of Я записал адрес библиотеки.
я
I
библиотека
the library
записать
to write down
адрес
the address
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Questions & Answers about Я записал адрес библиотеки.
Why is записал used here and what does it mean?
Записал is the past tense, perfective aspect of записать, which means “to write down” or “to record.” The perfective aspect signals that the action is viewed as completed. If you wanted to describe a past, ongoing or habitual action without emphasizing its completion, you would use the imperfective записывал.
What case is адрес, and why does it look the same as the nominative?
In this sentence адрес is in the accusative case because it’s the direct object of записал. Inanimate masculine nouns have identical forms for nominative and accusative singular, so адрес doesn’t change its ending.
Why is библиотеки in the genitive case?
Russian expresses “of …” or possession by putting the noun in the genitive. Адрес библиотеки literally means “address of the library.” Therefore библиотеки is the genitive singular of библиотека.
How would I say “I write down the library’s address” in the present tense?
Use the imperfective present tense: Я записываю адрес библиотеки. Here записываю is the 1 st person singular present tense of записывать, indicating an ongoing or habitual action.
Where is the stress in записал and in библиотеки?
– Записа́л is stressed on the са́л syllable (за-пи-са́л).
– Библиоте́ки is stressed on the те́ syllable (би-бли-о-те́-ки).
Can I change the word order, for example say Адрес библиотеки я записал?
Yes. Russian has flexible word order. Placing Адрес библиотеки at the front puts extra emphasis on what was written down, but the basic meaning remains the same.
How do you decline библиотека in the singular?
Singular declension of библиотека:
• Nominative: библиотека
• Genitive: библиотеки
• Dative: библиотеке
• Accusative: библиотеку
• Instrumental: библиотекой
• Prepositional: библиотеке
Could записать ever mean something other than “to write down”?
Yes. Записать can also mean “to record” (e.g. записать a song or video) or “to enroll/register” if used reflexively (записаться в кружок). Context determines the correct sense.
Why are there no prepositions before адрес and библиотеки?
Russian relies on cases rather than prepositions in many situations. Direct objects appear in the accusative without a preposition, and possession is shown by the genitive. That’s why you don’t need separate words equivalent to English “of.”