Зимой нельзя ездить на велосипеде по шоссе.

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Breakdown of Зимой нельзя ездить на велосипеде по шоссе.

• по: along
• ездить: to ride
• зимой: in winter

Questions & Answers about Зимой нельзя ездить на велосипеде по шоссе.

Why is it зимой and not в зиму or в зимой?

Russian often uses the instrumental case of seasons to mean “in (that season)”:

• зимой – in (the) winter
• летом – in (the) summer
• осенью – in (the) autumn
• весной – in (the) spring

These are adverbial forms; they tell you when something happens.

You cannot say в зимой – the preposition в doesn’t combine with this adverbial form.

В зиму exists but has a different, more literal meaning: into the winter (e.g. describing a transition from autumn into winter), and it’s not used for simple “in winter” in everyday speech.

So Зимой нельзя… literally = In winter (it is) not allowed…

What exactly does нельзя mean here? Is it “not allowed” or “impossible”?