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В тот же день я оставила вторую заявку, потому что в коридоре не работала розетка и нужен был электрик.

В тот же день я оставила вторую заявку, потому что в коридоре не работала розетка и нужен был электрик.
That same day I submitted a second request because the outlet in the corridor didn’t work and an electrician was needed.

Breakdown of В тот же день я оставила вторую заявку, потому что в коридоре не работала розетка и нужен был электрик.

я
I
в
in
быть
to be
и
and
не
not
потому что
because
работать
to work
в
on
второй
second
нужный
needed
тот же
the same
день
day
оставить заявку
to submit a request
коридор
corridor
розетка
outlet
электрик
electrician
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Questions & Answers about В тот же день я оставила вторую заявку, потому что в коридоре не работала розетка и нужен был электрик.

Why is it В тот же день and not в тот же день with some other case?

Because в + a time expression like день usually takes the accusative to mean on/that day.

  • тот → accusative masculine = тот (same form as nominative)
  • же is an emphasizing particle meaning the very / same
    So В тот же день = On that same day / That very day.
What does же do here? Can I omit it?

же adds emphasis: тот же день = the same day (as previously mentioned) / that very day.
You can omit it, but the meaning becomes less “same-as-before” and more neutral:

  • В тот день = On that day
  • В тот же день = On that same day
Why is it я оставила (past, feminine)? What if the speaker is male?

Russian past tense agrees with the subject in gender and number.

  • Female speaker: я оставила
  • Male speaker: я оставил
  • Plural: мы оставили
What does оставила mean here, and why that verb (not подала, сделала)?

In this context оставить заявку is a common collocation meaning to submit / to leave a service request. It’s like “leave a request with the office/system.”
Other verbs exist but can sound different:

  • подать заявку = to file/submit an application/request (more official/formal)
  • сделать заявку is possible but less standard than оставить/подать for this noun.
Why is вторую заявку in that form?

It’s the accusative object of the verb оставила (left/submitted what?).
заявка is feminine, so вторая (nominative) becomes вторую (accusative feminine).

What’s the difference between заявка, запрос, and заявление?

Common distinctions:

  • заявка = a request/order/application in a practical system (service request, booking request, job application in some contexts)
  • запрос = an inquiry/request for information, or a “request” in a more abstract/official sense (also “query”)
  • заявление = a written statement/application, often formal (e.g., to an institution), or “statement” as a declaration

Here it’s likely a building/maintenance service request, so заявка fits best.

Why is there a comma before потому что?

Because потому что introduces a subordinate clause (a “because” clause). In Russian, that clause is normally separated by a comma: ..., потому что ...

Can word order change around потому что?

Yes. Both are common:

  • Я оставила вторую заявку, потому что ... (reason after the main action)
  • Потому что ..., я оставила вторую заявку. (reason first; more emphatic/less neutral)
Why is it в коридоре and not в коридор?

With в:

  • в + accusative (в коридор) = motion into (going into the corridor)
  • в + prepositional (в коридоре) = location in (already there)

Here it’s about where the outlet is located, so в коридоре.

Why does it say не работала розетка—an outlet “didn’t work”? Is that normal Russian?

Yes, that’s a very natural way to say an electrical socket/outlet wasn’t functioning.
работать is widely used for devices/systems: the elevator works, the internet works, the outlet works, etc.

Why is работала imperfective?

не работала describes an ongoing state/condition: the outlet was not functioning (at that time). Imperfective is typical for states and repeated/ongoing situations. Perfective would sound like a single completed event, which doesn’t fit as well here.

What’s going on in нужен был электрик? Why two words for “needed” (нужен and был)?

This is a common Russian structure: нужен/нужна/нужно/нужны (short adjective meaning “needed”) + optional быть in past/future.

  • Present: нужен электрик = an electrician is needed
  • Past: нужен был электрик = an electrician was needed
  • Future: нужен будет электрик = an electrician will be needed

In the past, был is usually included.

Why is it нужен был (masculine), not нужна была?

Because нужен agrees with the thing that is needed: электрик is masculine.
If it were помощь (feminine), you’d get: нужна была помощь.

Why is электрик in the nominative case?

In нужен был электрик, электрик is the grammatical subject of an impersonal-style statement meaning “An electrician was needed.” So it stays nominative.

Is мне missing? Should it be мне нужен был электрик?

Both are correct; they differ slightly:

  • нужен был электрик = general/impersonal: an electrician was needed (for the situation)
  • мне нужен был электрик = explicit personal need: I needed an electrician

Russian often omits мне when the context already makes it clear.

What does и connect here—two actions or two reasons?

It connects two reasons inside the “because” part: 1) в коридоре не работала розетка
2) (и) нужен был электрик
So the speaker submitted a second request because the outlet didn’t work, and an electrician was needed.

Why isn’t there a comma before и here?
Because it’s a simple coordination of two clauses within the subordinate “because” section, and there’s no special reason (like different subjects with a strong boundary, or inserted/parenthetical structure) forcing a comma. The sentence flows as “X and Y” reasons.