Learn Hardcore Russian: Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми на семинаре. - I get acquainted with new people at the seminar.

Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми – I am getting acquainted with new people, starting to know them, not just seeing them once.
It implies a bit of interaction, introduction, maybe conversation, not just a brief encounter.

In everyday translation, “I meet new people at the seminar” is fine, but the Russian stresses the process of getting to know them.

What is the infinitive of знакомлюсь, and is it perfective or imperfective?

The infinitive is знакомиться – this is imperfective.

Imperfective: знакомиться – to be getting acquainted, to get acquainted in general/habitually.
Perfective: познакомиться – to get acquainted (once, as a completed event).

So я знакомлюсь = “I (am) getting acquainted / I get acquainted” (ongoing or habitual), while я познакомлюсь = “I will get acquainted” (one completed event in the future).

Why does the verb end in -сь? What does that mean?

The -сь ending marks a reflexive verb in Russian.

Base verb: знакомить – to introduce (someone to someone).
- Я знакомлю друзей. – I introduce my friends.
Reflexive: знакомиться – to get acquainted (literally “to introduce oneself / each other”).
- Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми. – I get acquainted with new people.

Reflexive endings are -сь / -ся, depending on the word’s sound structure, and often mean:

“oneself” (одевать – dress someone, одеваться – dress oneself),
“each other” (знакомиться – get acquainted with each other),
or sometimes they just change the meaning in a more idiomatic way.

How do you conjugate знакомиться in the present tense?

Present tense of знакомиться:

я знакомлюсь – I get acquainted
ты знакомишься – you get acquainted (singular, informal)
он / она / оно знакомится – he / she / it gets acquainted
мы знакомимся – we get acquainted
вы знакомитесь – you get acquainted (plural or formal)
они знакомятся – they get acquainted

In the sentence Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми, знакомлюсь is 1st person singular.

What case is новыми людьми, and why is it used here?

Новыми людьми is in the instrumental plural.

новый → новыми (instrumental plural)
люди → людьми (instrumental plural)

With знакомиться, Russian uses с + instrumental case to show the people you’re getting acquainted with:

знакомиться с кем? – with whom?
- с новыми людьми – with new people
- с коллегами – with colleagues
- с соседями – with neighbors

So the structure is: знакомиться + с + instrumental.

Why is the preposition с used with знакомлюсь?

Russian uses с (“with”) after знакомиться to mark the people you are getting acquainted with:

знакомиться с кем? – to get acquainted with whom?
- с новыми людьми – with new people
- с преподавателем – with the teacher
- с участниками семинара – with the participants of the seminar

This is similar to English “with”, but in Russian it specifically requires the instrumental case.

Why is it новыми and not новые?

Новые is nominative plural (used for subjects: “new people do something”).

Here we need the instrumental plural, because of с and the verb знакомиться:

Masculine/feminine/neuter plural adjective новый:
- Nominative plural: новые
- Instrumental plural: новыми

So:

Новые люди пришли. – New people came. (subject → nominative)
Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми. – I get acquainted with new people. (object of “with” → instrumental)

Why is it людьми and not люди?

Люди is nominative plural (“people” as the subject).

Here, after с, we need the instrumental plural:

люди (nom. pl.) → людьми (instr. pl.)

Examples:

Люди ждут. – People are waiting. (subject)
Я работаю с людьми. – I work with people. (instrumental after с)
Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми. – I get acquainted with new people. (instrumental after с)

Why is it на семинаре, and not в семинаре or на семинар?

На семинаре uses:

на (on/at) + предложный падеж (prepositional case): семинар → семинаре.

Reasons:

Events and activities (курс, лекция, собрание, концерт, семинар, конференция) commonly use на:
- на семинаре – at the seminar
- на лекции – at the lecture
- на концерте – at the concert
В семинаре would sound strange; в is more for spaces/volumes (in a room, in a box, in a city).
На семинар (accusative) means “to the seminar” (direction), not “at the seminar”:
- Я иду на семинар. – I’m going to the seminar.
- Я знакомлюсь на семинаре. – I get acquainted at the seminar.

What case is семинаре, and how is it formed?

Семинаре is prepositional case singular.

For masculine nouns ending in a consonant:

Nominative singular: семинар
Prepositional singular (after в, на for location): семинаре

Pattern:

город → в городе – in the city
офис → в офисе – in the office
семинар → на семинаре – at the seminar

How would you say this in the past and future?

Imperfective (process / repeated action):

Past:
- Я знакомился с новыми людьми на семинаре. (male speaker)
- Я знакомилась с новыми людьми на семинаре. (female speaker)
  → I was getting acquainted / I used to get acquainted with new people at the seminar.
Future (imperfective):
- Я буду знакомиться с новыми людьми на семинаре.
  → I will be getting acquainted / I will (in general) get acquainted with new people at the seminar.

Perfective (single completed event in the future or past):

Future:
- Я познакомлюсь с новыми людьми на семинаре.
  → I will get acquainted with new people at the seminar (one event, completed).
Past:
- Я познакомился / познакомилась с новыми людьми на семинаре.
  → I got acquainted with new people at the seminar.

What is the difference between Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми and Я знаком с новыми людьми?

Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми.
– I am getting acquainted with new people (process / starting to know them).
Я знаком с новыми людьми.
– I am acquainted with the new people (I already know them).

So:

знакомлюсь – action in progress or habit.
знаком – state/result: already familiar.

How is this different from Я встречаю новых людей or Я встречаюсь с новыми людьми?

They’re related but not the same:

Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми.
– I get acquainted with new people (introductions, starting to know them).
Я встречаю новых людей.
– I meet new people (I encounter them).
Focus is on encountering, not necessarily on introductions or getting to know them.
Я встречаюсь с новыми людьми.
– I meet (up) with new people / I have meetings with new people.
Sounds more like scheduled or repeated meetings, e.g., for work or projects.

For “socially getting to know people at an event”, знакомлюсь is the most natural.

Can the word order change, for example На семинаре я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми?

Yes, Russian word order is flexible:

Я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми на семинаре.
На семинаре я знакомлюсь с новыми людьми.
С новыми людьми я знакомлюсь на семинаре.

All are grammatically correct. The meaning is essentially the same, but the emphasis shifts:

Starting with На семинаре highlights the place: “At the seminar, (what happens is that) I meet new people.”
Starting with С новыми людьми emphasizes the people: “It’s with new people that I get acquainted at the seminar.”

The original order is neutral and natural.