Learn Hardcore Russian: После работы я иногда выхожу во двор, чтобы поиграть в мяч с детьми. - After work I sometimes go out into the yard to play ball with the children for a while.

You can’t say после работа; that is simply ungrammatical, because после never uses nominative or accusative. It always requires genitive: после + GENITIVE.

What is the nuance of я выхожу here? Why not я иду or я хожу?

All three verbs are about movement, but they focus on different things:

выходить = to go out, to exit (from inside to outside).
- я выхожу во двор = I go outside into the yard.
идти = to go (by foot) in one specific direction / one time.
- я иду во двор = I am going to the yard (on foot, now/once).
ходить = to go (by foot) in general, habitually or back-and-forth.
- я хожу во двор = I (often/usually) go to the yard.

In the sentence, выходить with the prefix вы- emphasizes leaving the building (going out). Also, the present-tense я выхожу with иногда expresses a repeated habit:

Я иногда выхожу во двор = I sometimes go out into the yard (from the house / building).

If you used иду, it would sound more like right now I’m going, at this moment. Хожу would focus more on a habitual route, not specifically on exiting from inside.

Why is it во двор and not в двор? And why is двор in the accusative?

Two separate points:

во vs в
Russian uses во instead of в before some words mainly for easier pronunciation (euphony), especially:
- before words starting with в or ф
- or with some consonant clusters
в двор is hard to pronounce (two в in a row: v dvor).
во двор sounds smoother, so native speakers prefer во двор.
Case of двор
With verbs of motion toward a place (like идти, ехать, выходить), в / во usually takes the accusative case to show direction:
- во двор (accusative) = into the yard (where to?)
- в школу = to (into) school
- в парк = to the park
Here, двор nominative and accusative look the same in masculine inanimate nouns, but grammatically it’s accusative, because it answers where to? (куда?).

Can I change the word order and say Я иногда выхожу во двор после работы? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say Я иногда выхожу во двор после работы. It is grammatically correct and natural.

Differences are only about emphasis:

После работы я иногда выхожу во двор…
Puts a little more focus on after work as the time frame. That’s the “starting point” of the sentence.
Я иногда выхожу во двор после работы…
Sounds a bit more neutral; starts from the subject я and adds the time phrase at the end.

Meaning is basically the same: a habitual action that happens after work. Russian word order is quite flexible, and both versions are fine.

Why is иногда placed after я? Can it go in other positions?

Yes, иногда (sometimes) is quite flexible. All of these are possible:

После работы я иногда выхожу во двор…
После работы иногда я выхожу во двор…
После работы я выхожу во двор иногда… (less common, slightly marked)

Placing иногда after the subject (я) is very typical:

Я иногда выхожу во двор = I sometimes go out into the yard.

Moving иногда earlier (Иногда я выхожу…) would slightly emphasize the fact that it is not always, but only sometimes. Overall, the differences are subtle; the sentence remains easy to understand in all these orders.

Why is there a comma before чтобы?

In Russian, чтобы usually introduces a subordinate clause of purpose (or similar types of subordinate clauses). Subordinate clauses are normally separated from the main clause by a comma.

Main clause: После работы я иногда выхожу во двор
Subordinate clause (purpose): чтобы поиграть в мяч с детьми

So you must write:

…выхожу во двор, чтобы поиграть в мяч с детьми.

This is a standard punctuation rule: [main clause], чтобы [subordinate clause].

What exactly does чтобы mean here, and how is чтобы + infinitive used?

In this sentence, чтобы expresses purpose: in order to / so as to.

…выхожу во двор, чтобы поиграть в мяч с детьми.
= I go out into the yard in order to play ball with the children.

The pattern is:

чтобы + infinitive when the subject of both actions is the same.

Here, the subject is я for both actions:

я выхожу во двор
(я) поиграть в мяч с детьми

Russian doesn’t repeat я in the infinitive clause; it’s understood from context.

So чтобы поиграть literally is “in order to play”, where the player is the same person who goes out.

Why is it поиграть and not just играть? What’s the difference?

Both are infinitives of играть (to play), but the по- prefix makes it perfective and adds a nuance:

играть (imperfective) = to play (in general, as a process, no clear endpoint)
поиграть (perfective) = to play for a (some) time, with the idea of a completed, limited action

In purpose clauses:

чтобы поиграть often means to play for a bit / to have a play session.
чтобы играть would sound more like the ongoing activity itself (for example, “so that I can be playing”), and is less natural here.

So:

выхожу во двор, чтобы поиграть
implies: I go out to spend some time playing (and that playtime has a natural end).

Why do Russians say играть в мяч (literally “play in ball”)? Why в мяч?

The verb играть uses different prepositions depending on what you play:

играть в + accusative for games / sports / ball:
- играть в футбол = to play football
- играть в теннис
- играть в карты
- играть в мяч = to play ball (i.e., play with a ball as a game)
играть на + prepositional for musical instruments:
- играть на гитаре
- играть на пианино

So в мяч is part of a fixed pattern играть в + [game/ball].
It doesn’t literally mean “inside the ball”; it’s just how Russian expresses playing a game / ball sport.

Why is it с детьми? Which case is детьми, and why is it used?

с детьми means with the children.

с (with) in the sense of together with usually takes the instrumental case.
The noun дети (children) has an irregular plural declension.
Its instrumental plural form is детьми.

So:

дети (nominative plural) = children
с детьми (instrumental plural) = with children

Other examples:

с друзьями = with (my) friends
с родителями = with (my) parents
с братом = with (my) brother

The preposition с here shows accompaniment: I play ball together with the children.

Could I say после работы я иногда выхожу на улицу instead of во двор? What’s the difference between двор and улица?

You can say на улицу, but it has a slightly different meaning:

во двор = into the yard / courtyard, usually an enclosed or semi-enclosed area next to a house or building (e.g., an apartment block yard where kids play).
на улицу = to (the) street / outside, more general; could be the sidewalk, street, outdoors in general.

So:

выхожу во двор, чтобы поиграть в мяч
suggests a specific yard area, typically a safe place for kids.
выхожу на улицу, чтобы поиграть в мяч
could sound like playing on the street / just outside, a bit more general and sometimes less specific to a residential yard.

Does я иногда выхожу mean this is a repeated habit? What would я иногда выйду mean?

Yes. Я иногда выхожу uses the imperfective verb in the present, which in this context describes a repeated, habitual action:

Я иногда выхожу во двор = I sometimes go out into the yard (as a regular pattern in my life).

Я иногда выйду во двор is grammatically possible but unusual. Выйду is future perfective and usually refers to a single, complete action. With иногда, it sounds odd, because иногда suggests repetition.

Normally, you would say:

Иногда я выйду во двор only in a very specific context, like a narrative where you contrast one occasional future action with other future actions. Even then, it’s stylistically marked.

For an ordinary statement of habit, Russian uses:

я иногда выхожу (imperfective, present)
or
я иногда выходил (imperfective, past) for a past habit.