Breakdown of На следующей консультации мы долго говорили про дыхание и расслабление.
Questions & Answers about На следующей консультации мы долго говорили про дыхание и расслабление.
«На следующей консультации» literally means “at the next consultation/appointment/session.”
- на in Russian is often used for:
- events and activities: на концерте (at the concert), на уроке (in class), на экзамене (at the exam), на встрече (at the meeting)
- here, консультация is treated as an event (a consultation session), so you say на консультации.
In English you’d use “at” or “during”, but in Russian the natural preposition in this context is на, not в.
Both «следующей» and «консультации» are in the prepositional case, singular, feminine.
- Nominative forms:
- следующая консультация – the next consultation
- Prepositional singular (after на, in the meaning “at/during” an event):
- на следующей консультации
The endings:
- следующая → следующей
- консультация → консультации
The adjective следующей agrees with консультации in:
- gender: feminine
- number: singular
- case: prepositional
So the whole phrase «на следующей консультации» is “at the next consultation.”
In this context, no, «в следующей консультации» would sound wrong or at least very unnatural.
- For events/lessons/meetings in Russian, the standard choice is на:
- на консультации – at the consultation
- на уроке – in class
- на собрании – at the meeting
«В консультации» would be interpreted more like “inside a written consultation/report” (a text or document), not a meeting with a person. For a real-life session/appointment, you use на консультации.
«Консультация» can mean several types of “consultation” or “session”:
- medical: a consultation with a doctor, therapist, etc.
- educational: a teacher’s consultation with a student (extra help, exam prep)
- professional: a consulting session with a lawyer, coach, psychologist, etc.
In this sentence, from context it’s likely a session with some kind of specialist (e.g., therapist, coach, teacher), where they talked about breathing and relaxation.
So you can translate it as “session,” “consultation,” or “appointment,” depending on the context.
«Мы долго говорили» literally means “We talked for a long time.”
- говорили – past tense, plural of говорить (to speak / to talk)
- долго – “for a long time”
долго emphasizes the duration of the action:
- мы говорили – we talked (no info about how long)
- мы долго говорили – we talked for a long time
It’s similar to English:
- “We talked.” vs. “We talked for a long time.”
The difference is aspect:
- говорили – imperfective past (ongoing/process-focused)
- поговорили – perfective past (completed action as a whole)
In this sentence:
- мы долго говорили focuses on the process and its duration – they spent a long time talking.
- If you said мы поговорили про дыхание и расслабление, it would emphasize more the fact of having had that talk, as a completed event, not its length.
Adding долго fits naturally with the imperfective: you’re describing how long the talking lasted, not just the fact that it happened.
Both are possible, but there is a nuance:
- говорить о + prepositional – more neutral/standard, often slightly more formal:
- говорили о дыхании и расслаблении
- говорить про + accusative – more colloquial, conversational:
- говорили про дыхание и расслабление
In everyday speech, про is very common and sounds natural and casual.
In more formal writing, or if you want a slightly more “standard” style, о is preferred.
Meaning-wise, in this sentence they both mean “about”:
- говорили про дыхание ≈ “talked about breathing”
- говорили о дыхании ≈ “talked about breathing”
After про, the noun is in the accusative case.
- про что? – about what?
- про дыхание и расслабление – about breathing and relaxation
Both дыхание and расслабление are neuter nouns ending in -ие:
- Nominative singular: дыхание, расслабление
- Accusative singular (for inanimate neuter nouns) is the same as nominative: дыхание, расслабление
So they look like nominative, but grammatically here they are in the accusative after про.
Both are verbal nouns (action nouns) in -ние / -ение:
дыхание
- From the verb дышать – “to breathe”
- дыхание = “breathing” (also “breath” in some contexts)
расслабление
- From the verb расслаблять(ся) / расслабить(ся) – “to relax (something/someone or oneself)”
- расслабление = “relaxation”
So «про дыхание и расслабление» = “about breathing and relaxation.”
In Russian past tense, the verb agrees with the subject in:
- gender (for singular)
- number (singular/plural)
Here:
- мы – “we” (plural)
- Past tense, plural of говорить is говорили
Past tense forms:
- Masculine singular: говорил
- Feminine singular: говорила
- Neuter singular: говорило
- Plural (any gender mix): говорили
Because the subject is мы (we), the correct past form is говорили.
Yes, you can move долго a bit without changing the basic meaning:
- Мы долго говорили про дыхание и расслабление.
- Мы говорили долго про дыхание и расслабление.
Both mean “We talked for a long time about breathing and relaxation.”
The first is more neutral and common.
If you strongly stress долго at the end:
- Мы говорили про дыхание и расслабление долго.
it can sound like you’re emphasizing how long it was, but grammatically it’s still fine.
A natural translation would be:
“At the next session we talked for a long time about breathing and relaxation.”
Other good options, depending on context:
- “At our next consultation, we talked for a long time about breathing and relaxation.”
- “During the next appointment, we spent a long time talking about breathing and relaxation.”