Breakdown of Семинар проходит вечером в университете.
вечером
in the evening
в
at
университет
the university
семинар
the seminar
Questions & Answers about Семинар проходит вечером в университете.
What exactly does проходит mean here, and why not a simple есть like in English “The seminar is in the evening”?
The verb проходит is the 3rd person singular of проходить (imperfective).
In this context it means “takes place / is held / happens”. So the sentence is literally:
- Семинар проходит вечером в университете.
= The seminar takes place in the evening at the university.
Russian almost never uses есть to link time/place to an event like English “is”. Instead, you usually use a verb meaning “to take place / to happen / to be held”, such as:
- проходит – is taking place / is held (imperfective, usual/ongoing pattern)
- состоится – will take place (perfective, one specific occasion)
- идёт – is showing / is on (often for films, performances: идёт фильм)
So есть is not appropriate here; проходит expresses that the seminar is happening (on a regular basis or as a scheduled event).
Why is проходит in the present tense if we might be talking about a future scheduled seminar?