Breakdown of Встреча с другом была приятной.
друг
the friend
с
with
быть
to be
приятный
pleasant
встреча
the meeting
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Questions & Answers about Встреча с другом была приятной.
Why is с другом in the instrumental case, and what does the preposition с govern?
In Russian, the preposition с meaning with always requires the instrumental case. Since друг is masculine singular, it changes to другом in the instrumental, so с другом = “with (a) friend.”
Why is the adjective приятной in instrumental case instead of the nominative приятная?
When an adjective follows the verb быть as a predicate in the past (and future) tense, it stands in the instrumental case. For feminine singular adjectives the ending is -ой, so приятная (nom.) → приятной (instr.) after была.
Why do we include the verb была here when in present tense we often drop “to be”?
In Russian, the present-tense form of быть is usually omitted (e.g. Встреча с другом приятная = “The meeting with a friend is pleasant”). However, in past and future tenses you must use the verb. Here the meeting happened in the past, so we have была, the feminine singular past form of “to be.”
How do встреча, была, and приятной agree with each other?
All three agree in gender (feminine) and number (singular). Встреча is a feminine noun, so the past-tense verb была and the predicate adjective приятной both take feminine singular forms.
Where is the stress in приятной, and how do you pronounce it?
приятной is pronounced [prʲɪˈjatnəj], with the stress on the second syllable –ят–.
Why aren’t there articles (like “a” or “the”) in the Russian sentence?
Russian does not have articles. Definiteness and indefiniteness are inferred from context. When translating into English you choose a, an, or the based on the situation.
Can I say с моим другом instead of с другом, and what’s the nuance?
Yes. с другом simply means “with a friend” (or “with that friend,” if it’s clear). с моим другом specifies “with my friend.” If you want to indicate possession, add the possessive pronoun in the instrumental: моим → с моим другом.
How would you express the same idea in the present tense?
Drop the copula быть in the present:
Встреча с другом приятная.
This means “The meeting with a friend is pleasant” or “It’s nice meeting a friend.”