Я собираюсь купить новый плащ вместо старого.

I am going to buy a new raincoat instead of the old one.

Breakdown of Я собираюсь купить новый плащ вместо старого.

• я: I
• купить: to buy
• новый: new
• старый: old
• собираться: to be going to
• плащ: the raincoat
• вместо: instead of

Questions & Answers about Я собираюсь купить новый плащ вместо старого.

Why is собираться followed by the infinitive купить, and what nuance does it add?

Using собираться + infinitive expresses a planned or intended action in the near future, similar to “be going to” in English. It emphasizes your intention or decision to do something, rather than simply stating a future fact.

What is the difference between Я собираюсь купить and Я куплю?

• Я собираюсь купить (“I am going to buy”) focuses on your plan or intention.
• Я куплю uses the perfective verb купить in the simple future tense (“I will buy”), stating the action as a completed future event without emphasizing the planning stage.

What case is новый плащ in, and why does it look the same as the nominative?

After the verb купить, the direct object takes the accusative case. плащ is an inanimate masculine noun, and its accusative form is identical to the nominative. Likewise, the adjective новый has the same form in both nominative and accusative when modifying an inanimate masculine noun.

Why is only старого used instead of старого плаща?

In Russian, when the noun is already mentioned or clear from context, you can omit it and use only the adjective (or pronoun) in its appropriate case. Here старого stands as a substantive adjective, shorthand for старого плаща (“of the old coat”).

What case does вместо govern, and why is старого in that case?

The preposition вместо (“instead of”) always requires the genitive case. Therefore старого is the genitive singular masculine form of старый, agreeing with the implied noun плащ.

What’s the difference between плащ and дождевик?

• плащ is a general term for a cloak, overcoat or raincoat and can sound more formal or stylish.
• дождевик specifically refers to a waterproof raincoat or poncho, often a casual or disposable type used in rain.

How do you pronounce плащ, and what sound does the letter щ represent?

плащ is pronounced [plaɕː], roughly “plah-shch.” The letter щ denotes a single long soft “sh” sound (alveolo-palatal fricative), similar to English “sh” but even softer and held a bit longer.

Why is the perfective infinitive купить used instead of the imperfective покупать?

The perfective infinitive купить emphasizes that the purchase will be completed as a single event. The imperfective покупать would suggest an ongoing or habitual action (“to be buying”), which doesn’t fit the one-time, planned purchase meaning here.