В конце разговора я сказал «Пока».

At the end of the conversation, I said “Goodbye”.

Breakdown of В конце разговора я сказал «Пока».

• я: I
• пока: goodbye
• сказать: to say
• разговор: the conversation
• в конце: at the end

Questions & Answers about В конце разговора я сказал «Пока».

Why is it в конце разговора and not в конце разговор or в конце разговоре?

Because в конце (literally “in the end”) normally takes the genitive to mean “at the end of (something)”. So:

• конец (dictionary form, nominative)
• в конце (prepositional of конец)
• разговора = genitive singular of разговор (“of the conversation”)

So в конце разговора = “at the end of the conversation.”

What case is конце and why does it change from конец?

конце is the prepositional case of конец, used after в when it means “in/at” a location/time point:

• конец → в конце Russian prepositions often force a specific case, and the noun changes its ending accordingly.

Can I say на конце разговора instead of в конце разговора?

Not in standard Russian. The fixed, natural phrase is в конце (чего-то). на конце is generally used for physical “on the end/tip” of something (and even then it’s less common than other options), not for “at the end of a conversation.”

Is разговора singular or plural, and how would the plural look?

Here it’s singular: разговора = “of (the) conversation.” Plural would be разговоров (“of conversations”), e.g. в конце разговоров = “at the end of conversations.”

Why is я included? Could you just say В конце разговора сказал «Пока»?

Yes, you can omit я if it’s already clear who the subject is:

• В конце разговора я сказал… (more explicit)
• В конце разговора сказал… (more typical in narrative when the subject is obvious) Russian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person/number.

Why is it сказал (perfective), not говорил (imperfective)?

сказал is perfective and presents the goodbye as a single completed act (“I said it once / I said it and it’s done”).
говорил would suggest a more ongoing/repeated process (“I was saying / used to say”), which doesn’t fit a one-time farewell as well.

How do I know it’s сказал and not сказала?

Past tense in Russian agrees with the speaker’s gender in singular:

• я сказал = a male speaker (“I said”)
• я сказала = a female speaker
  The sentence as written implies the speaker is male (or is using the masculine form).

What exactly does Пока mean here, and is it the same as “while” (пока)?

It’s the same word, but a different usage.

• пока as a conjunction = “while / until”
• Пока! as a farewell = informal “Bye!” / “See you!” Context and punctuation/capitalization make it clear it’s the farewell.

How informal is Пока? When is it appropriate?

Пока is informal and common with friends, family, classmates, kids, and casual coworkers (depending on workplace culture).
More neutral/formal alternatives include:

• До свидания (standard polite “Goodbye”)
• Всего доброго (polite “All the best”)
• До встречи (“See you”)

Why are Russian quotation marks « » used, and could I use " " instead?

« » are standard Russian typographic quotation marks. In informal typing you may see " ", but in edited Russian text « » is preferred.
Also, when you’re quoting the exact word you said (Пока), quotes are natural.

Do I need any punctuation before the quote—like a colon?

Both are possible depending on style, but the most common patterns are:

• … сказал: «Пока». (colon is very common before direct speech)
• … сказал «Пока». (also acceptable, especially in simpler writing) You’ll also often see a comma or dash in other direct-speech layouts, but with a short quote this is a typical choice.

Is В конце разговора the only natural way to say “at the end of the conversation”?

It’s very natural, but there are alternatives with slightly different flavor:

• Под конец разговора = “toward the very end of the conversation” (a bit more expressive)
• В завершение разговора = “in closing / to conclude the conversation” (more formal)
• Когда разговор закончился, я сказал … = “When the conversation ended, I said …” (more explicit)

Could I replace сказал with попрощался?

Yes, but the meaning shifts:

• я сказал «Пока» = specifically mentions the word you said
• я попрощался = “I said goodbye / I took my leave” (doesn’t specify the exact phrase) You could combine them: В конце разговора я попрощался и сказал «Пока».