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Опасно идти по шоссе ночью.

Опасно идти по шоссе ночью.
It is dangerous to walk along the highway at night.

Breakdown of Опасно идти по шоссе ночью.

по
along
идти
to walk
ночью
at night
шоссе
the highway
опасно
dangerous
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Questions & Answers about Опасно идти по шоссе ночью.

Why is there no subject (like It is dangerous...) in Russian?

Russian often uses impersonal sentences where no explicit subject is needed.
In Опасно идти по шоссе ночью., the idea of it is understood automatically, so Russian simply states Опасно + infinitive (идти) = It’s dangerous to walk/go....

What part of speech is опасно here? Is it an adverb?

In this sentence опасно functions as a predicative word (often taught as a “word of state” or “category of state”). Formally it looks like:

  • the short form neuter of the adjective опасный (опасно), but in usage it behaves like It is dangerous / It’s dangerous (to...).

You’ll see the same pattern in: Трудно понять., Полезно читать., Скучно одному.

Why is идти in the infinitive?

After words like опасно, трудно, легко, приятно, полезно, Russian commonly uses an infinitive to name the action that has the property:

  • Опасно (dangerous) + идти (to go/to walk)

So the grammar is basically: [evaluation] + [action in infinitive].

Why is it идти and not ходить?

Both are possible, but they differ in nuance:

  • идти = going/walking in one конкретное movement (often “right now” or “in a particular situation”), but it’s also frequently used in general warnings like this.
  • ходить = going/walking habitually / repeatedly / in general as an activity

So:

  • Опасно идти по шоссе ночью. = It’s dangerous to go/walk along the highway at night (as a warning; can sound like a specific scenario).
  • Опасно ходить по шоссе ночью. = It’s dangerous to walk along the highway at night (more like a general habit/rule).
Why do we use по with шоссе?

по + dative is often used to mean along / via / over (a surface/route).
So идти по шоссе = to walk along the highway / on the highway.

Other common examples:

  • идти по улице (along the street)
  • ехать по дороге (drive along the road)
What case is шоссе here, and why doesn’t it change?

After по, the noun should be dative.
But шоссе is a indeclinable noun (it doesn’t change by case), so:

  • nominative: шоссе
  • dative (needed here): still шоссе

You can see declinable nouns change:

  • по дороге (dative of дорога)
  • по шоссе (dative, but unchanged because it’s indeclinable)
Why is ночью used instead of в ночи / в ночь?

ночью is the instrumental case used adverbially to mean at night (time when something happens). It’s the most natural everyday option.

Compare:

  • ночью = at night (neutral, common)
  • в ночь = into the night / on the night of... (often more specific, context-dependent)
  • по ночам = at nights / at night (repeatedly, “at night-time” as a habit)
Can I change the word order? Does it change the meaning?

Yes—Russian word order is flexible. The basic meaning stays, but emphasis changes.

Common variants:

  • Опасно идти по шоссе ночью. (neutral)
  • Ночью опасно идти по шоссе. (emphasizes at night)
  • По шоссе ночью опасно идти. (emphasizes the location/route)
Could I say Это опасно идти по шоссе ночью?

Usually, no—this sounds unnatural. Russian typically doesn’t use это before predicatives like опасно in this structure.

Natural options are:

  • Опасно идти по шоссе ночью.
  • Идти по шоссе ночью опасно. (same idea, different word order)
How do I add “for me / for you” (e.g., “It’s dangerous for me to...”)?

You can add a dative pronoun/noun:

  • Мне опасно идти по шоссе ночью. = It’s dangerous for me to walk along the highway at night.
  • Тебе опасно идти... = for you (informal)
  • Вам опасно идти... = for you (formal/plural)

This dative marks the person who experiences the situation as dangerous.