Breakdown of Перед выходом я делаю краткую запись в дневнике о планах на день.
Questions & Answers about Перед выходом я делаю краткую запись в дневнике о планах на день.
The preposition перед (before / in front of) in Russian normally requires the instrumental case.
- Nominative: выход (exit, going out)
- Instrumental: выходом
Because перед is used, the noun must be in the instrumental case: перед выходом = before the exit / before going out.
This is a general rule:
- перед домом – before the house / in front of the house
- перед уроком – before the lesson
- перед сном – before sleep
So перед + выходом is just following the normal government of the preposition перед.
In Russian, you cannot say перед выйти. The preposition перед must be followed by a noun (or pronoun), not by a verb.
To express before doing something, Russian often uses:
перед + verbal noun (from a verb)
- перед выходом – before going out (literally: before the exit)
- перед обедом – before lunch (literally: before the lunch)
Or a clause with перед тем как
- infinitive:
- Перед тем как выйти, я делаю краткую запись… – Before going out, I make a short entry…
In your sentence, Russian chooses the short nominal pattern перед выходом, which is very natural and common.
Делаю is the imperfective aspect; сделаю is the perfective aspect.
- я делаю краткую запись… – I (usually) make a short entry…
- я сделаю краткую запись… – I will make a short entry (one time, completed action)
In your sentence, я делаю suggests a habitual, repeated action – something you do regularly:
- Перед выходом я делаю краткую запись… – Before going out, I (always / usually) make a short entry…
If you said:
- Сейчас я выйду и сделаю краткую запись в дневнике.
that would be about a single future action.
All of these are possible, but they have slightly different nuances and collocations:
делать запись – to make an entry / make a note
Sounds a bit more formal or “journal-like”, focusing on the act of creating a record.писать в дневнике – to write in a diary
Neutral, everyday; emphasizes writing itself.записывать – to write down / to note down
Often used for writing down information (phone numbers, facts, reminders).
In a diary context:
- делать запись в дневнике = to make an entry in the diary
This matches English “entry” quite well and sounds natural in Russian.
You could also say:
- Перед выходом я записываю планы на день в дневник.
This is correct, but stylistically just slightly different.
Both краткую and короткую can be translated as short, but:
- краткий often means concise, brief, not detailed.
- короткий usually refers to physical length or duration (short in space or time).
So:
- краткая запись – a concise, brief entry, not long or detailed (good for summaries)
- короткая запись – a short-length entry, not many words (more about size than style)
In the context of a diary entry about plans, краткую запись sounds more natural, because you probably mean a brief summary of plans, not just a physically small note.
Запись is feminine:
- Nominative: запись
- Accusative: запись (for inanimate feminine nouns, nominative and accusative look the same)
The phrase делать запись takes a direct object in the accusative case:
- делаю (что?) запись – I make what? – an entry.
The adjective краткую clearly shows accusative singular feminine:
- Nominative: краткая запись (a brief entry – subject)
- Accusative: краткую запись (I make a brief entry – object)
So краткую запись is accusative singular feminine as the direct object of делаю.
The preposition в can take either:
Accusative (direction, movement into):
- в дневник – into the diary (where you are writing to)
Prepositional (location, where something is / exists):
- в дневнике – in the diary (where something is recorded/stored)
In your sentence, делать запись в дневнике describes where the entry exists, not the direction of movement. It’s like English: “an entry in the diary.”
So:
- делать запись в дневнике – to make an entry in the diary (resulting location)
- писать что-то в дневник – to write something into the diary (more about the action of putting it in)
Both are correct in general, but with запись, Russians usually say в дневнике.
The preposition о (about) requires the prepositional case:
- Nominative plural: планы (plans)
- Prepositional plural: о планах (about plans)
So:
- о чём? – о планах – about (the) plans
- о книге – about the book
- о работе – about work
The alternative про also means about, but про usually takes the accusative:
- про планы – about the plans (more colloquial)
Your sentence uses о планах, which is slightly more neutral/standard than про планы, and fits well with diary-style language.
На день literally means “for the day”. It specifies the time frame of the plans.
- о планах – about (some) plans
- о планах на день – about plans for the day (for this day / for today)
Other common patterns:
- планы на выходные – plans for the weekend
- планы на завтра – plans for tomorrow
- планы на неделю – plans for the week
So о планах на день clarifies that you are writing about what you intend to do during the coming day.
Yes, Russian word order is quite flexible. Both are possible:
Перед выходом я делаю краткую запись в дневнике о планах на день.
(Neutral; the time-setting phrase comes first.)Я перед выходом делаю краткую запись…
(Also correct; here я is at the start, and перед выходом is somewhat emphasized as a condition: I, before going out, make…)
Word order in Russian is used more for emphasis and nuance than for basic grammar, because cases show the roles of words.
Your version with Перед выходом at the beginning is very natural: it sets the time frame for what follows, similar to English “Before going out, I make…”
You have several options, with slightly different nuances:
- Перед выходом – very natural, neutral; focuses on the moment right before going out.
- До выхода – literally “until the exit / before the exit”; can sound a bit more like a deadline (before the time of leaving), but often similar in meaning.
- Перед тем как выйти – “before (the fact) that I go out” = “before (I) go out”; uses a clause with a verb, slightly more explicit and a bit more formal or bookish.
In your sentence, перед выходом is the smoothest and most idiomatic for everyday Russian.