Breakdown of Завтра я верну телефон в магазин.
я
I
в
to
магазин
the store
телефон
the phone
завтра
tomorrow
вернуть
to return
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Questions & Answers about Завтра я верну телефон в магазин.
What tense and aspect is верну in, and why does its present form mean “will return”?
верну is the 1st person singular present-tense form of the perfective verb вернуть. Perfective verbs don’t have a true present; their “present” form refers to a single, completed action in the future. So я верну means “I will return.”
What’s the difference between вернуть and возвращать?
вернуть is the perfective verb, used for one-time or completed actions (I’ll return it once). возвращать is the imperfective verb, used for ongoing, habitual or repeated actions (I keep returning things, or I was returning something).
What’s the difference between вернуть and отдать?
Both can mean “give back,” but вернуть focuses on returning something to its owner or place, while отдать simply means “to give” or “hand over.” You вернёте a borrowed book to its library; you отдаёте the book to the librarian’s hand.
Why is телефон in the accusative case here?
телефон is the direct object of верну, so it takes the accusative case. In masculine nouns ending in a consonant, nominative and accusative singular look the same (телефон).
Why is the destination expressed as в магазин instead of a dative case?
To show motion “into/ to” a place, Russian uses в plus the accusative case (магазин). The dative case (магазину) without a preposition usually marks an indirect object (“to someone”), not a destination for physical movement.
Why are there no articles like “the” or “a” before telephone or store?
Russian has no articles. Definiteness and indefiniteness are inferred from context, word order, intonation or additional words (e.g., этот телефон for “this phone”).
Can you drop the pronoun я and just say Завтра верну телефон в магазин?
Yes. Pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending -у already indicates 1st person singular. Including я adds emphasis on the subject or clarity if needed.
Is the word order fixed? Could I say Я завтра верну в магазин телефон?
Russian word order is flexible. Я завтра верну в магазин телефон is grammatically correct but shifts emphasis: placing телефон at the end highlights the object. The neutral order is Завтра я верну телефон в магазин.
How do you pronounce верну and телефон, and where is the stress?
верну́ (stress on the second syllable) and телефо́н (stress on фон). So it’s pronounced vehr-NOO and teh-lee-FON.