Мы стояли в пробке около моста.

in

Breakdown of Мы стояли в пробке около моста.

• стоять: to stand
• мы: we
• мост: the bridge

Questions & Answers about Мы стояли в пробке около моста.

What tense and aspect is стояли, and how would I render it in English?

It’s past tense, imperfective of стоять (“to stand”). It usually corresponds to “were standing” (ongoing state), but context can also make it “stood.”

Why does стояли end in -ли?

-л is the past marker; -ли is the plural past ending. Without a pronoun, стояли could mean “we/you (pl)/they stood,” so Мы clarifies “we.”

Could I say Мы были в пробке instead of Мы стояли в пробке?

Yes, but nuance differs:

• Мы стояли в пробке is the standard idiom for being stuck in traffic (literally “we were standing in a jam”).
• Мы были в пробке just states presence in a traffic jam and sounds less idiomatic.

Why is it в пробке and not в пробку?

With в, use:

• Prepositional for location: в пробке (“in a jam,” static).
• Accusative for motion into: в пробку (e.g., Мы заехали в пробку “We drove into a jam”).