Я всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

I always buy medical insurance before a trip.

Breakdown of Я всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

• я: I
• поездка: the trip
• перед: before
• всегда: always
• покупать: to buy
• медицинский: medical
• страховка: the insurance

Questions & Answers about Я всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

Why does медицинскую страховку have these endings (-ую, -ку)? What case is this?

Медицинскую страховку is in the accusative singular feminine.

• The base forms (dictionary forms) are:
  • медицинская – medical (fem. nominative singular)
  • страховка – insurance (fem. nominative singular)

In the sentence, покупать (to buy) is a transitive verb, so its direct object goes into the accusative case:

• nominative: медицинская страховка
• accusative: медицинскую страховку

The adjective and the noun must agree in gender, number, and case:

• feminine, singular, accusative:
  • медицинск-ая → медицинск-ую
  • страховк-а → страховк-у

So you say покупаю (что?) медицинскую страховку – I buy (what?) medical insurance.

Why is it перед поездкой and not перед поездка or перед поездку?

After the preposition перед (before, in front of), Russian normally uses the instrumental case.

• Base form (nominative): поездка – trip
• Instrumental singular: поездкой

So the pattern is:

• перед
  • instrumental:
    • перед школой – before school / in front of the school
    • перед работой – before work
    • перед поездкой – before the trip

Перед поездка and перед поездку are grammatically incorrect; перед requires the instrumental, not nominative or accusative, in this meaning.

What is the difference between перед поездкой and до поездки? Do they both mean before the trip?

Both can be translated as before the trip, but there is a nuance:

• перед поездкой (literally: in front of / right before the trip):

  • Often implies a point close in time to the trip.
  • Suggests something you do in preparation shortly before going.
  • Very natural in this sentence: Я всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

• до поездки (literally: up to the trip, before the trip):

  • A bit more neutral and broader: at any time before the trip, not necessarily right before.
  • Can sound a little more formal or bookish in some contexts.

In this specific sentence, перед поездкой is the more typical, idiomatic choice, because buying insurance is usually considered a pre-departure action, done shortly before traveling. До поездки is not wrong but less natural here.

Why is it покупаю and not куплю? Both mean to buy, right?

Russian has two aspects of verbs:

• покупать – imperfective (process, repeated/habitual action)
• купить – perfective (single, completed action)

Я всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой uses:

• покупаю – 1st person singular, present tense, imperfective

This matches:

• всегда – always, which describes a habit / repeated action

So the sentence means: I always (as a rule, habitually) buy medical insurance before a trip.

If you said Я всегда куплю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой, it would sound strange, because куплю (perfective) usually refers to one concrete future action: I will buy (once) medical insurance before the trip. Adding всегда conflicts with that idea of a single, specific event.

For a one-time plan, you would normally say:

• Я куплю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой. – I will buy medical insurance before the trip. (this particular trip)

Can I omit я and just say Всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой?

Yes, you can omit я; it is often dropped in Russian because the person is clear from the verb ending:

• покупаю can only be я (I) – 1st person singular.

So:

• Я всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.
• Всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

Both are correct. Including я is slightly more explicit and neutral; omitting я can sound a bit more informal or like you are emphasizing всегда (always).

Where can всегда go in this sentence? Are other word orders possible?

The most neutral, common version is:

• Я всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

Other grammatically possible positions:

1. Всегда я покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

   • Emphasis on всегда – It is always that I buy...
   • Can sound a bit more emotional or stylistically marked.

2. Я покупаю всегда медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

   • Still understandable, but wordier and less natural than the standard order.
   • The focus shifts slightly toward the verb + adverb group покупаю всегда.

3. Я покупаю медицинскую страховку всегда перед поездкой.

   • Grammatically possible, but sounds clumsy in normal speech.

In practice, for a learner, use:

• Я всегда покупаю медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

What is the difference between медицинская страховка, страховка, and медицинское страхование?

All are related but not identical:

1. страховка

   • Colloquial, general: insurance, policy
   • Can be used for many types of insurance: car, home, health, etc.
   • Купил страховку. – I bought insurance / a policy.

2. медицинская страховка

   • Specifically medical insurance / health insurance.
   • Very natural in everyday speech: У меня есть медицинская страховка.

3. медицинское страхование

   • A more abstract, formal-sounding noun: medical insurance (as a system, institution, type of insurance).
   • Often used in official or technical contexts, laws, documents.

In this personal, practical sentence about what you buy, медицинскую страховку is the most natural choice.

What is the difference between поездка and путешествие? Could I say перед путешествием instead?

Yes, you could say перед путешествием, but the nuance changes:

• поездка

  • A trip, often shorter, more concrete: a business trip, a weekend trip, going somewhere specific.
  • поездка в Москву – a trip to Moscow.

• путешествие

  • More like travel, journey, often longer or more adventurous, sometimes across several places.
  • путешествие по Европе – a trip/journey around Europe.

So:

• перед поездкой – before the trip (any kind of trip, often a specific upcoming one)
• перед путешествием – before the (bigger, longer) journey/travel

In normal contexts, both are possible, but поездка sounds more neutral and everyday.

How is покупаю formed, and what are the other forms of покупать?

Покупаю is the 1st person singular, present tense of the imperfective verb покупать (to buy):

Present tense (imperfective покупать):

• я покупаю – I buy / I am buying
• ты покупаешь – you buy (singular, informal)
• он/она/оно покупает – he/she/it buys
• мы покупаем – we buy
• вы покупаете – you buy (plural or formal)
• они покупают – they buy

Past tense:

• я покупал (m), я покупала (f) – I bought / was buying

Future (compound, with imperfective):

• я буду покупать – I will be buying / I will buy (habitually or over time)

Perfective partner: купить (single completed action: to buy once, to have bought):

• я куплю – I will buy (once)

Where is the stress in the words страховку, поездкой, and медицинскую?

Stresses:

• страхо́вку – stress on хо:

  • страховка: стро-хо́в-ка
  • accusative: медици́нскую строхо́вку

• пое́здкой – stress on е́:

  • пое́здка → пое́здкой

• медици́нскую – stress on ци́:

  • медици́н-ска-я → медици́н-ску-ю

Full stressed sentence (stressed syllables in caps just for clarity):

• Я ВСЕГДА́ покупА́Ю медици́нскую строхо́вку перЕ́д пОЕздкой.

Could I replace покупаю with беру in this sentence?

You could say:

• Я всегда беру медицинскую страховку перед поездкой.

This is understandable and acceptable, but there is a nuance:

• покупаю – clearly emphasizes the buying (paying money for a policy).
• беру – literally take; in this context, can mean get, obtain, and is slightly less specific. It might sound like:
  • I always get medical insurance before a trip (could be via work, a package deal, etc.).

Both are possible; покупаю is more precise about the action of purchasing.