Learn Hardcore Russian: Иногда я получаю билет на концерт бесплатно. - Sometimes I get a ticket to a concert for free.

Иногда is an adverb meaning sometimes. In Russian it’s common and natural to put time adverbs at the beginning of the sentence to set the scene:

Иногда я получаю билет на концерт бесплатно.

But you can move it:

Я иногда получаю билет на концерт бесплатно.
Я получаю билет на концерт иногда бесплатно. (possible, but sounds a bit clumsy; you’d rarely say it like this)

The two most natural positions are:

At the very beginning: Иногда я…
Right after the subject: Я иногда…

Both mean the same; putting Иногда first just emphasizes the “sometimes” a bit more.

Do I have to say я, or can I drop it and just say Иногда получаю билет…?

In Russian, subject pronouns like я are often optional because the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action.

Иногда я получаю билет на концерт бесплатно.
Иногда получаю билет на концерт бесплатно.

Both are grammatically correct. The version without я is possible in informal speech, especially in context where it’s already clear that “I” is meant.

However:

Including я is neutral and clear.
Omitting я can sound a bit more casual or stylistic, or it can be used when the speaker is listing actions:
Иногда получаю билет на концерт бесплатно, иногда — со скидкой.

For a learner, it’s safer to include я until you’re very comfortable with Russian verb endings and context.

Why is it получаю and not получу? What’s the difference?

Получаю comes from получать (imperfective), and получу comes from получить (perfective).

In this sentence, Иногда я получаю… describes a repeated, habitual action:

получаю = I (sometimes, regularly, from time to time) get / receive

If you say:

Иногда я получу билет на концерт бесплатно.

this sounds wrong or at least very strange, because получу (perfective) refers to a single completed event. Using it with Иногда (“sometimes”) clashes with that sense of a single event.

So:

Use получаю (imperfective present) for “sometimes I get” / “I usually get” / “I often get”.
Use получу (perfective future) when you talk about one specific future result:
Завтра я получу билет на концерт бесплатно. – Tomorrow I will get a concert ticket for free.

Why is it получаю, not получаюсь?

Adding -сь / -ся to a verb usually makes it reflexive or changes the meaning completely.

получать → получаться is a different verb meaning “to turn out, to work out, to be obtained,” e.g.:
У меня ничего не получается. – Nothing works out for me.

In our sentence, you want the straightforward meaning “to receive / to get”, so you must use the non‑reflexive verb:

я получаю билет – I get / receive a ticket.

If you said я получаюсь билет, it would be ungrammatical.

What case is билет in here, and why doesn’t it change form?

In я получаю билет, the word билет is the direct object (what you are getting). Direct objects in Russian take the accusative case.

For inanimate masculine nouns like билет, the accusative singular is identical to the nominative singular:

Nominative (dictionary form): билет
Accusative (what you get): билет

So it did change case (grammatically), but the form stayed the same.

Examples for comparison:

Я читаю книгу. – книга → книгу (feminine changes in the accusative)
Я вижу стол. – стол → стол (masculine inanimate: same form in nominative and accusative)
Я получаю билет. – билет → билет (same reason)

Why do we say на концерт and not в концерт or к концерту?

In Russian, for going to or relating to events (concert, lecture, meeting, show, match, etc.), the usual preposition is на + accusative:

на концерт – to a concert
на лекцию – to a lecture
на матч – to a match
на вечеринку – to a party

So билет на концерт literally is a ticket to a concert.

Other prepositions:

в концерт – basically wrong in standard Russian in this meaning.
к концерту – means “towards / by the time of the concert” (e.g. подготовка к концерту – preparation for the concert). It does not mean “to a concert” as in “a ticket to a concert.”

So for “ticket to a concert,” the idiomatic and correct phrase is билет на концерт.

What exactly is бесплатно grammatically, and how is it different from бесплатный билет?

Бесплатно is an adverb: it means for free / at no cost and describes how you get the ticket.

я получаю билет бесплатно – I get a ticket for free.

Бесплатный is an adjective: it means free (no cost) and describes a noun.

я получаю бесплатный билет – I get a free ticket.

Often, these two versions are almost interchangeable in meaning:

Иногда я получаю бесплатный билет на концерт.
Иногда я получаю билет на концерт бесплатно.

Nuance:

бесплатный билет slightly focuses on the type of ticket (a “free ticket”).
билет бесплатно focuses more on the way you obtain it (you pay nothing for it).

In everyday speech, both are used, and the difference is subtle.

Is it important that бесплатно is at the end? Can I move it earlier in the sentence?

Бесплатно is fairly flexible in word order. Some options:

Иногда я получаю билет на концерт бесплатно.
– Very natural, neutral.
Иногда я бесплатно получаю билет на концерт.
– Also natural. Slightly stronger emphasis on the fact it’s free.
Иногда я получаю бесплатно билет на концерт.
– Possible, but a bit less common; still understandable.

Placing бесплатно at the very end (option 1) is probably the most typical and neutral-sounding order here. It works like in English: “…a ticket to the concert for free.”

How would I say “Sometimes I get free concert tickets” (plural) instead of “a ticket”?

Just make билет plural:

Иногда я получаю бесплатные билеты на концерт.
– Sometimes I get free tickets to the concert.

Or, keeping бесплатно as an adverb:

Иногда я получаю билеты на концерт бесплатно.

Grammar points:

билет → билеты (nominative/accusative plural)
Adjective agreement: бесплатный билет → бесплатные билеты (masculine plural nominative/accusative inanimate)
на концерт stays singular; you don’t have to make the concert plural just because tickets are plural.

Is there any difference in meaning between Иногда я получаю бесплатный билет на концерт and Иногда я получаю билет на концерт бесплатно?

Both usually translate as “Sometimes I get a free concert ticket.” The core meaning is the same: you pay nothing.

Subtle nuances:

бесплатный билет (adjective) – focuses more on the ticket as an item that is free:
- Maybe it’s part of a promotion, a special “free ticket” category, a specific type of ticket.
билет бесплатно (adverb) – focuses more on the circumstances of obtaining it:
- You happened not to pay for this ticket (someone gave it to you, you won it, etc.).

In everyday conversation, people rarely distinguish the two; both are perfectly natural and commonly used.