Learn Hardcore Russian: После работы я возвращаюсь домой и прячу сумку с бумагами в шкаф. - After work I return home and hide the bag with papers in the cupboard.

The -ся ending makes the verb reflexive. Возвращать means “to return something,” while возвращаться means “to return oneself” or “to go back.”

Why is домой used instead of в дом?

Домой is an adverb meaning “homeward” or “to home.” Saying в дом (“into the house”) focuses on entering a building, whereas домой specifically means returning to one’s home.

Why is сумку in the accusative case?

Сумку is the direct object of the verb прячу, so it takes the accusative singular form of сумка.

Why is бумагами in the instrumental case after с?

When с means “with” (indicating accompaniment or what something contains), it requires the instrumental case. Thus бумаги becomes бумагами.

Why is the phrase в шкаф using the accusative instead of the prepositional case?

After в, you use the accusative case when there is movement into something (direction of motion). If you wanted to say “in the cupboard” (static location), you’d use the prepositional: в шкафу.

What is the aspect difference between прячу and спрячу?

Прячу is imperfective (present tense), emphasizing an ongoing or habitual action (“I am hiding / I hide”). Спрячу is perfective (future tense), emphasizing the completion of the action (“I will hide” with focus on the result).

Why are there no words for “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Russian has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is conveyed through context and word order, not through separate words like “the” or “a.”

Can I change the word order, for example by putting домой at the beginning?

Yes. Russian has a flexible word order because grammatical roles are marked by case endings, not by position. You could say «Домой после работы я возвращаюсь» to emphasize “home,” though the neutral order is «После работы я возвращаюсь домой».