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После собрания я написала ей, что оплата по счёту уже прошла.

После собрания я написала ей, что оплата по счёту уже прошла.
After the meeting I wrote to her that the payment on the bill had already gone through.

Breakdown of После собрания я написала ей, что оплата по счёту уже прошла.

я
I
что
that
после
after
по
on
уже
already
счёт
the bill
пройти
to go through
собрание
the meeting
написать
to write (to)
ей
to her
оплата
the payment
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Questions & Answers about После собрания я написала ей, что оплата по счёту уже прошла.

Why is it После собрания and not После собрание?

Because после requires the genitive case.

  • собрание (nom.) → собрания (gen.)
    It’s the standard pattern for “after (something)”: после + genitive.
What does собрание mean here—“meeting” as in a business meeting?

Yes. собрание commonly means a meeting (a gathering where people discuss something), often in a work/organizational context. Depending on context, it can also mean an “assembly” or “gathering,” but “meeting” is the default.

Why is it я написала (perfective) and not я писала (imperfective)?

написала is perfective and focuses on a completed, one-time action: “I wrote (and finished / sent the message).”
писала (imperfective) would emphasize the process, repetition, or background action, e.g. “I was writing to her” or “I used to write to her.”

What does the prefix на- add in написать?

In писать → написать, the prefix helps form a perfective verb meaning “to write (and complete it),” often implying producing a finished written message/text. It doesn’t translate as a separate word here; it mainly marks completion.

Why is it написала and not написал?

Past tense in Russian agrees with the gender of the subject in the singular.

  • написал = masculine (a man speaking)
  • написала = feminine (a woman speaking)
  • написало = neuter
  • написали = plural
What case is ей, and why is it used?

ей is the dative form of она (“she”). It marks the recipient of the action: “I wrote to her.”
Pattern: написать кому? → dative (мне, тебе, ему, ей, нам, вам, им).

Could I also say я написала ей сообщение? Is something omitted?

Yes, and it’s very common. In your sentence, написала ей already strongly implies “wrote her (a message/text),” so сообщение is often omitted as understood from context. Adding it just makes it more explicit.

Why is there a comma before что?

Because что introduces a subordinate clause (indirect statement):
я написала ей, что ... = “I wrote to her that ...”
Russian normally uses a comma to separate the main clause from the что-clause.

What exactly does оплата по счёту mean, and why is it по счёту?

оплата по счёту means “payment on/against the invoice/bill” or “payment per the invoice.”
The preposition по often takes the dative case, and with financial documents it can mean “according to / on the basis of / for (that document).”

  • счёт (invoice/bill/account) → dative счёту after по
Does счёт mean “invoice,” “bill,” or “account” here?

Most likely invoice/bill (a document requesting payment). In other contexts счёт can mean “bank account” or “score,” but with оплата по счёту the “invoice/bill” meaning is the natural one.

Why is it счёту with ё? Can it be written as счету?

The correct spelling is счёту (from счёт). In many texts, ё is often printed as е (so you may see счету), but it’s still pronounced [щёту].

Why does the sentence use прошла (“passed”) for payment? What does оплата ... прошла mean?

In Russian, пройти is commonly used for processes like payments/transactions meaning “to go through / to be processed successfully.”
So оплата ... прошла = “the payment went through / was processed.”

Why is it прошла (feminine)?

Because оплата is a feminine noun, and the past tense of пройти agrees with it:

  • оплата прошла (fem.)
    If it were платёж (masc.), you’d say платёж прошёл.
What does уже add here, and where can it go in the sentence?

уже means “already” and signals the payment is complete by that time. It’s flexible in position, but the meaning stays similar. Common options:

  • ... что оплата ... уже прошла (as given)
  • ... что оплата ... прошла уже (slightly more “and it already went through”)
  • ... что уже прошла оплата ... (more emphasis on “already”)
Is the word order fixed? Could I say Я после собрания написала ей...?

Word order is quite flexible. После собрания at the start sets the time frame clearly, but you can move it:

  • После собрания я написала ей... (neutral, time-first)
  • Я после собрания написала ей... (also fine, slightly more “I (as for me) after the meeting...”)
  • Я написала ей после собрания... (focus shifts: when you wrote becomes additional info)
Could что be replaced with something else?

Sometimes, yes, depending on style:

  • что is the most neutral “that.”
  • In informal speech, people may omit it in some sentences, but with this structure it’s usually kept: написала ей, что... is very natural and clear.