Breakdown of Их дети играют среди цветов, а потом собираются пить чай.
пить
to drink
чай
the tea
цветок
the flower
играть
to play
Questions & Answers about Их дети играют среди цветов, а потом собираются пить чай.
Why is среди followed by the genitive case (цветов) rather than another case?
The preposition среди always requires the genitive case to mean “among” or “in the midst of.” So the plural noun цветы changes to цветов when used with среди.
What’s the difference between среди and между? Both can mean “among” or “between,” right?
Yes, both relate to “between/among,” but:
- между is used when you’re talking about distinct, countable items (e.g. between two trees, между двумя деревьями).
- среди is for things seen as a group or mass (e.g. among the flowers, among a crowd). Flowers form a scattered “mass,” so среди цветов is natural.
What does а потом mean, and why not just потом or и потом?
- потом alone means “later” or “afterwards.”
- и потом is simply “and then,” neutral in style.
- а потом also means “and then,” but а adds a slight shift or contrast—“first this, and then that.” In narrative it emphasizes the next step.
Why is there a comma before а потом?