Learn Hardcore Russian: Металлические двери магазина закрываются автоматически вечером. - The metal doors of the store close automatically in the evening.

Adjectives in Russian agree in gender, number, and case with the nouns they modify. Here двери (“doors”) is feminine plural in the nominative case, so the adjective металлические is also nominative plural.

What case is магазина and why is it used here?

Магазина is the genitive singular of магазин (“store”). The genitive case is used to show possession or belonging: двери магазина literally means “doors of the store.”

What part of speech is автоматически, and why is it placed before вечером?

Автоматически is an adverb modifying the verb закрываются, indicating the manner (“automatically”). Russian word order is relatively flexible; placing the adverb close to the verb is natural here. You could also say вечером двери автоматически закрываются, but the original order is perfectly acceptable.

What form is вечером, and why is that case used to express time?

Вечером is the instrumental singular of вечер (“evening”). Russian often uses the instrumental case as an adverbial modifier of time to mean “in the evening,” “in the morning” (утром), etc.

Why does the verb закрываются end with -ся, and what does that mean?

The suffix -ся turns the active verb закрывать (“to close”) into a reflexive/passive form. In this sentence, it’s best understood as passive: “are closed” or “close by themselves.”

Why is закрываются in the present tense if the action happens in the evening (which might be future today)?

In Russian, the present tense of imperfective verbs can describe habitual or scheduled actions. Here it means “(they) close every evening” as a regular or timetable event.

Could we use the perfective verb закрыться to say “will close”?

Perfective verbs don’t have a true present tense; their “present” form expresses future actions. If you said двери магазина закроются автоматически вечером, it would mean “the store’s doors will have closed automatically in the evening,” focusing on the completion, not the habitual schedule.

How do you express “the” in Russian? There’s no article here.

Russian doesn’t use definite or indefinite articles. Context and word order usually tell you whether something is specific. In this sentence, it’s understood we mean “the store’s metal doors.”

Could you say магазинские двери instead of двери магазина?

Yes, магазинские двери (“store doors”) is a valid adjective-based phrase (nominative plural). It’s slightly less explicit about possession but is quite common. Both forms are grammatically correct.

How is металлические pronounced, and where is the stress?

It’s pronounced roughly me-tah-LI-cheh-skee-yeh, with the stress on the third syllable (-LI-).