Breakdown of Хотя я пришёл вовремя, дверь была закрыта ключом.
я
I
быть
to be
дверь
the door
вовремя
on time
ключ
the key
прийти
to arrive
хотя
although
закрытый
closed
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Questions & Answers about Хотя я пришёл вовремя, дверь была закрыта ключом.
What does хотя mean and how is it used in this sentence?
Хотя is a subordinating conjunction meaning “although” or “even though.” It introduces a concessive clause that expresses a fact contrasting with the main clause. In Хотя я пришёл вовремя, дверь была закрыта ключом, the first clause admits that you arrived on time, but nevertheless the door was locked.
Why is there a comma before дверь была закрыта ключом?
In Russian, when a subordinate clause (here beginning with хотя) comes before the main clause, you separate them with a comma. If you reverse the order—Дверь была закрыта ключом, хотя я пришёл вовремя—you still put a comma before хотя.
What’s the difference between вовремя and во время?
- вовремя (one word) is an adverb meaning “on time” or “punctually.”
- во время (two words) is a prepositional phrase meaning “during” something (requires a noun in the genitive): во время урока = “during the lesson.”
Why is пришёл spelled with ё, and can I write it as пришел?
The letter ё always represents the sound /jo/. Many native texts omit the two dots and write е instead, so пришел is common in print. However, using ё removes ambiguity (e.g. прошёл vs пришёл) and is recommended for learners and in educational materials.
How would you say this sentence if the speaker is female?
The past-tense verb agrees in gender with the subject я. A female speaker would say:
Хотя я пришла вовремя, дверь была закрыта ключом.
Why is ключом in the instrumental case? Could you instead say дверь была закрыта на ключ?
- The instrumental case (ключом) indicates the means or instrument used: “locked with a key.”
- закрыть на ключ (“to lock with a key”) is also correct and common, often phrased as дверь заперта на ключ to stress it cannot be opened. Both constructions work, but ключом focuses on the instrument itself.
What is была закрыта? Why not just use закрыл кто-то?
была закрыта is a short-form passive participle plus the auxiliary была, literally “was closed.” It describes the door’s state after someone (unspecified) closed it. Using this passive structure emphasizes the result (“the door ended up locked”) rather than who did it.
Why don’t we specify who locked the door?
In Russian, when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context, you can omit it in a passive construction. If you needed to name the doer, you could say: дверь была закрыта мной (“the door was closed by me”) or кем-то (“by someone”).
Can we swap the clauses and say Дверь была закрыта ключом, хотя я пришёл вовремя? Does it change anything?
Yes, that word order is grammatically correct. It simply foregrounds the fact that the door was locked, then adds the concession. The nuance is slightly different in emphasis, but the overall meaning remains the same.
Could I use несмотря на то что instead of хотя?
Absolutely. Несмотря на то что also means “despite the fact that.” It’s a bit more formal and longer:
Несмотря на то что я пришёл вовремя, дверь была закрыта ключом.