Экзамен начинается утром.

The exam starts in the morning.

Breakdown of Экзамен начинается утром.

• экзамен: the exam
• утром: in the morning
• начинаться: to begin

Questions & Answers about Экзамен начинается утром.

What does each word in Экзамен начинается утром literally mean, and what are their grammar roles?

• Экзамен – exam, examination.

  • Noun, masculine, singular, nominative case.
  • It is the subject of the sentence (the thing that is starting).

• начинается – (it) starts / (it) begins.

  • 3rd person singular, present tense, imperfective aspect, reflexive verb начинаться.
  • It is the main verb.

• утром – in the morning.

  • Literally “by/with the morning”; it is the instrumental case of утро (morning), used adverbially.
  • It answers the question когда? – “when?”, so it functions as an adverbial of time.

So the structure is: Subject – Verb – Time expression.

Why is it начинается and not a form of начаться like начнётся?

Russian has two aspects for most verbs:

• начинаться – imperfective (ongoing, habitual, scheduled, process)
• начаться – perfective (single completed starting point, result, one-time event)

In the sentence:

• Экзамен начинается утром.
  
  • Imperfective начинаться, present tense → describes a scheduled / regular start (like a timetable).

If you say:

• Экзамен начнётся утром.
  
  • Perfective начаться, future tense → focuses on the moment when it will start, usually one specific event.

Both can be correct, but:

• начинается – “(generally / according to the schedule) starts in the morning.”
• начнётся – “(on that particular day) will start in the morning.”

How can a present tense verb начинается refer to the future “will start”?

Russian, like English, often uses the present tense to talk about scheduled future events:

• English: The exam starts tomorrow. (future meaning, but present tense)
• Russian: Экзамен начинается завтра.

So начинается can be:

• real present:
  Экзамен начинается прямо сейчас. – The exam is starting right now.
• scheduled future:
  Экзамен начинается утром. – The exam starts in the morning. (according to plan / timetable)

Russian doesn’t need a separate auxiliary (“will”) for this; the context makes it future.

What is the -ся ending in начинается? Does it change the meaning?

The -ся (or -сь after a vowel) is the reflexive/clitic ending.
Base verb: начинать – to start (something).
Reflexive/intransitive: начинаться – to start, to begin (by itself).

Difference:

• Учитель начинает экзамен. – The teacher starts the exam.
  (начинать

  • direct object)

• Экзамен начинается. – The exam starts (by itself, no one is mentioned as starting it).
  (начинаться, reflexive/intransitive)

So начинается means roughly “begins (itself) / has its beginning,” used when the subject is the thing starting.

Why do we say утром instead of в утро or в утром?

With parts of the day, Russian commonly uses adverb-like instrumental forms without a preposition:

• утром – in the morning
• днём – in the daytime / in the afternoon
• вечером – in the evening
• ночью – at night

So:

• Экзамен начинается утром. – The exam starts in the morning.

в утро is not idiomatic here. You would say:

• в это утро – on this morning
• в то утро – on that morning

But for a general “in the morning” time frame, you normally use утром (instrumental, no в).

What case is утром, and why that case?

Утром is the instrumental singular of утро.

Instrumental case is often used adverbially in Russian to express:

• Time when for parts of the day:
  
  • утром – in the morning
  • вечером – in the evening
  • днём – in the afternoon
  • ночью – at night

So here instrumental expresses “at what time?” / “when?”:

• Экзамен начинается утром. – The exam starts in the morning.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Утром экзамен начинается or Экзамен утром начинается?

Yes, Russian word order is flexible. All these are possible, but the emphasis changes slightly:

1. Экзамен начинается утром.

   • Neutral; simple statement.
   • Mild focus on what happens and when.

2. Утром экзамен начинается.

   • Puts утром at the front, emphasizing the time:
     “In the morning, the exam starts.”
   • Often used to contrast with another time:
     Утром экзамен начинается, а вечером мы отдыхаем.

3. Экзамен утром начинается.

   • Brings утром closer to the verb; can sound a bit more colloquial or expressive, lightly emphasizing утром as well.

All are grammatically correct; the first is the most neutral/common in isolation.

How do you pronounce Экзамен начинается утром? Where is the stress?

Stresses (marked by capital letters):

• экЗАмен – экза́мен (ek-ZA-men), stress on за.
• начинАется – начина́ется (na-chi-NA-ye-tsa), stress on на.
• Утром – У́тром (OO-tram), stress on у́.

Phonetically (approximate):

• Экзамен – [ик-ZA-men]
• начинается – [na-chi-NA-yet-sya]
• утром – [OO-tram]

Full sentence slowly:
экЗАмен начиНАется У́тром.

Why does the verb end with -ется and not just -ет?

Break down начинается:

• Stem: начина- (from начинать / начинаться)
• 3rd person singular ending: -ет → начинает – “(he/she/it) starts”
• Reflexive marker: -ся

So: начинает + ся → начинается.

Orthographic rule: after a consonant, we write -ся, not -сь:

• он начинается (not начинаетсь)
• After a vowel: боится → боится (no extra vowel) but боиться (infinitive) vs боится (3sg). The point for learners: in 3rd singular, it’s always -ется / -ётся / -ится / -ётся etc. plus -ся.

In this verb, -ется = -ет (3sg) + -ся (reflexive).

What is the gender and number of экзамен, and how does it affect начинается?

Экзамен:

• Gender: masculine
• Number: singular
• Case: nominative (subject)

The verb начинается is in 3rd person singular to agree with a singular subject:

• Экзамен начинается утром. – The exam starts in the morning.

If it were plural:

• Экзамены начинаются утром. – The exams start in the morning.
  (Verb changes to начинаются – 3rd person plural.)

What is the difference between Экзамен начинается утром and Экзамен начнётся утром in nuance?

Both can talk about the future, but with different aspectual focus:

1. Экзамен начинается утром.

   • Imperfective aspect (начинаться).
   • Sounds like a scheduled / routine fact or something on a timetable.
   • Comparable to English: The exam starts in the morning. (timetable style)

2. Экзамен начнётся утром.

   • Perfective aspect (начаться), future tense.
   • Focuses on the single moment of starting in the future, often one particular exam on one day.
   • Comparable to: The exam will start in the morning.

So:

• Talking about a general rule or schedule → начинается.
• Talking about a one-time event happening in the future → начнётся.

Is there a difference between утром and с утра?

Yes, both relate to “morning,” but with different nuances:

• утром – in the morning (a general time frame)

  • Экзамен начинается утром. – The exam starts in the morning.

• с утра – literally “from the morning”; often means from early in the morning / since morning and can suggest an extended period.

  • Мы ждём результатов с утра. – We’ve been waiting for the results since (early) morning.

If you said:

• Экзамен начинается с утра.
  It would sound like “The exam starts already from the morning / from early morning,” implying maybe several sessions or activity beginning early and continuing. It’s less neutral than утром.