Log inSign up

В поликлинике мне выдали талон, и я ждала свою очередь спокойно.

В поликлинике мне выдали талон, и я ждала свою очередь спокойно.
At the clinic they gave me a ticket number, and I waited for my turn calmly.

Breakdown of В поликлинике мне выдали талон, и я ждала свою очередь спокойно.

я
I
в
in
и
and
мне
me
ждать
to wait
спокойно
calmly
свой
my own
поликлиника
the clinic
выдать
to issue / to hand out
талон
the ticket
очередь
the turn
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Russian now

Questions & Answers about В поликлинике мне выдали талон, и я ждала свою очередь спокойно.

Why is it в поликлинике and not в поликлинику?

Because в поликлинике uses the prepositional case to mean location: in/at the clinic (where the action happened).
В поликлинику would use the accusative and mean movement/direction: to the clinic (going there).

What does мне mean here, and why is it in the dative?

Мне means to me. The verb выдать (to issue/give out) commonly takes:

  • the person receiving something in the dative (мне, вам, ему…), and
  • the thing being issued in the accusative (талон).

So мне выдали талон = they issued me a ticket/slip.

Who is the subject of выдали? It doesn’t say они.

Russian often omits obvious subjects. Выдали is 3rd person plural past (they gave/issued), but it’s used very commonly as an indefinite “they” meaning something like:

  • the staff / the receptionist / they at the clinic.

So it’s understood contextually: the clinic staff issued the ticket.

Why is the verb выдали plural, but the speaker is one person?

Because выдали refers to the people who issued the ticket (the staff), not the speaker.
The speaker is marked by мне (to me), not by verb agreement.

What is талон in this context?

In a clinic context, талон is usually a numbered slip/appointment ticket (often for a specific doctor or time slot), something you get and then wait for your turn. It can be translated as ticket, stub, or appointment slip, depending on the system.

Why is it я ждала (feminine) and not я ждал?

Past tense in Russian agrees with the subject in gender and number:

  • я ждал = I (male) waited
  • я ждала = I (female) waited
  • я ждало (rare; neuter) / мы ждали (we waited)

So ждала tells you the speaker is female (or the narrator is describing a female person).

Why is it ждала (imperfective) rather than perfective like подождала?

Ждать is imperfective, used for an ongoing/process meaning: I was waiting / I waited (for some time as a process).
A perfective like подождала tends to focus on the completed act of waiting (often “waited a bit” or “waited and then finished”). In this sentence, the emphasis is on the calm manner of the waiting, not on completing it.

What case is свою очередь, and why?

Свою очередь is accusative singular feminine because it’s the direct object of ждала (waited for what?).

  • очередь is feminine → своя becomes свою in accusative feminine.
Why use свою instead of мою?

Свой is a reflexive possessive meaning my/your/his/her/their own, tied to the subject of the clause.
With я ждала, using свою is the natural Russian choice: I waited for my (own) turn.
Мою очередь is possible, but it can sound more emphatic/contrastive (e.g., “my turn, not someone else’s”).

What does спокойно modify, and could it go elsewhere in the sentence?

Спокойно is an adverb meaning calmly, modifying ждала: I waited calmly.
Word order is flexible. You could also say:

  • …и я спокойно ждала свою очередь. The meaning stays basically the same; placement can shift emphasis (putting спокойно earlier highlights the calmness sooner).
Why is there a comma before и, and could it be omitted?

There’s a comma because it joins two independent clauses (two separate “mini-sentences”): 1) В поликлинике мне выдали талон
2) я ждала свою очередь спокойно

In Russian, и doesn’t automatically remove the comma when both sides are complete clauses with their own subjects/predicates.

Is в поликлинике just “in the clinic,” or can it mean “at the clinic”?
Both are natural translations. Russian в + prepositional with places often covers English in/at depending on context. With institutions like a clinic, at the clinic is often the most idiomatic English rendering, even though the literal sense is “in.”