Breakdown of Мама пылесосит комнату перед ужином.
комната
the room
ужин
the dinner
перед
before
мама
the mother
Questions & Answers about Мама пылесосит комнату перед ужином.
What aspect is пылесосить, and what’s its perfective form?
Пылесосить is an imperfective verb, used for ongoing or habitual actions. Its perfective counterpart is пропылесосить, which indicates the action will be viewed as complete (e.g. Мама пропылесосит комнату перед ужином means “Mom will have vacuumed the room before dinner”).
What does the -ит ending in пылесосит tell us?
The -ит suffix marks 3rd person singular present tense of an -ить verb—it tells you the subject is “he/she/it.” Here, Мама пылесосит means “Mom vacuums” or “Mom is vacuuming.”
Why is комната in the form комнату?
Because комнату is the accusative singular of комната (a feminine, 1st-declension noun). As the direct object of a transitive verb, it takes the accusative case; inanimate feminine nouns end in -у there.
What case is ужином in, and why?
Ужином is the instrumental singular of ужин (masculine, 2nd-declension). The preposition перед, when used in a temporal sense (“before”), requires the instrumental case.
What's the difference between перед ужином and ?