Learn Hardcore Russian: На конференции будет формальный ужин, но разговоры за столом остаются живыми и тёплыми. - There will be a formal dinner at the conference, but the conversations at the table remain lively and warm.

В конференции would usually mean inside the physical conference (as a container) or taking part in a conference (as in участвовать в конференции).

Here, we’re talking about what happens at the event, so на конференции is the natural choice.

What case is конференции here, and why is it used?

Конференции is in the prepositional case (singular).

Pattern:

Nominative: конференция (conference)
Prepositional: (о) конференции, на конференции

The prepositional case is used because:

It follows the preposition на in the sense of “at (an event/place)”.

So на конференции literally means “at the conference,” with конференции in the prepositional case.

Could we change the word order and say формальный ужин будет на конференции instead of На конференции будет формальный ужин?

Yes, that’s possible, and both are grammatically correct:

На конференции будет формальный ужин.
– Focus on what will happen at the conference (there will be a formal dinner).
Формальный ужин будет на конференции.
– Focus on where the formal dinner will take place (it will be at the conference, not somewhere else).

Russian word order is flexible and used to shift emphasis, not to mark grammar (cases do that).

Why is it будет формальный ужин and not something like есть формальный ужин?

Russian normally doesn’t use есть as “there is/there will be” in this kind of future sentence.

To say “there will be X,” Russian uses:

будет
- noun (singular):
  будет ужин – there will be a dinner
будут
- noun (plural):
  будут ужины – there will be dinners

So На конференции будет формальный ужин literally is “At the conference there will be a formal dinner.”
Using есть here (На конференции есть формальный ужин) would sound wrong in this context.

What nuance does формальный ужин have in Russian? Is it exactly like “formal dinner” in English?

Yes, it’s very similar:

формальный ужин usually implies:
- official/organized event
- dress code (more elegant clothing)
- structured program, speeches, toasts, etc.

It sounds like the kind of dinner you have at a conference, business event, or ceremony.
It can refer both to formal in style and official in nature, like in English.

Why is разговоры in the plural? Could we say разговор за столом остаётся…?

Both are possible, but they feel different:

разговоры за столом остаются…
– “the conversations at the table remain…”
Suggests many different conversations going on (people at different tables, or multiple topics).
разговор за столом остаётся…
– “the conversation at the table remains…”
Focuses on one collective conversation.

In the conference context, multiple people are speaking in parallel, so разговоры (plural) is more natural.

What’s the difference between за столом and на столе?

They use two different prepositions and cases, and the meaning changes:

за столом (instrumental: столом) – “at the table” (sitting around it):
- Мы сидим за столом. – We are sitting at the table.
- разговоры за столом – conversations at the table.
на столе (prepositional: столе) – “on the table” (on its surface):
- Тарелки на столе. – The plates are on the table.

In this sentence, we care about people sitting at the table and talking, so it must be за столом.

Why is столом in the instrumental case after за?

The preposition за can take two different cases, with different meanings:

Accusative: за стол – movement towards, “to (sit) at the table”
- Садись за стол. – Sit down at the table.
Instrumental: за столом – location, “at (sitting by) the table”
- Мы сидим за столом. – We are sitting at the table.

In разговоры за столом, we’re talking about where the conversations are happening (location, no movement), so за + instrumental → за столом.

Why is it разговоры … остаются живыми и тёплыми and not разговоры … живые и тёплые?

Both structures exist, but they mean different things:

разговоры остаются живыми и тёплыми
- остаются
  - instrumental (живыми, тёплыми)
- Focus on the process/resulting state:
  “the conversations remain (stay) lively and warm.”
- Instrumental case is common with verbs like быть, становиться, оставаться to describe a resulting or continuous state.
разговоры живые и тёплые
- No verb (or implied есть) + nominative adjectives
- Simple description of quality:
  “the conversations are lively and warm.”

The original sentence contrasts формальный ужин with the quality that persists during it, so остаются живыми и тёплыми is a good stylistic choice.

Why are живыми and тёплыми in the instrumental plural?

They agree with разговоры (plural) and they are in the instrumental case because of the verb остаются (оставаться = to remain):

Pattern:

разговоры остаются какими? – what do they remain (as)?
→ живыми, тёплыми (instrumental plural of живой, тёплый)

Common pattern with verbs:

быть – быть кем/чем (instrumental)
становиться – становиться кем/чем (instrumental)
оставаться – оставаться кем/чем (instrumental)

So the instrumental marks the resulting/continuing state after “remain.”

Does тёплый here mean physically warm, or “warm” in an emotional sense?

In this context it’s clearly emotional:

тёплые разговоры, тёплая атмосфера, тёплые отношения
– warm, friendly, kind, emotionally pleasant.

It does not mean temperature (like warm soup). It’s about the warm, friendly atmosphere of the conversations despite the formal setting.

Why is the verb остаются in the present tense if we’re talking about a future event (будет формальный ужин)?

Russian often uses the present tense to describe what typically happens in a given situation, even if the situation is in some described or imagined future.

The idea is:
“At the conference there will be a formal dinner, but (at such dinners / in that setting) conversations at the table remain lively and warm.”

You could also say:

…но разговоры за столом остаются живыми и тёплыми. – general/typical fact.
For a specific planned dinner you might hear:
…но, как правило, разговоры за столом остаются живими и тёплыми.

Using present here gives it a timeless, habitual feel, not a one-time event.