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В этот раз я не опоздал на семинар.

В этот раз я не опоздал на семинар.
This time I wasn’t late for the seminar.

Breakdown of В этот раз я не опоздал на семинар.

я
I
не
not
на
for
опоздать
to be late
семинар
the seminar
в этот раз
this time
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Questions & Answers about В этот раз я не опоздал на семинар.

Why does Russian say В этот раз? Is it the same as На этот раз?

Both are common and usually translate as this time, but they’re not always interchangeable.

  • В этот раз = this time / on this occasion (neutral, very common).
  • На этот раз often has a slight contrastive feeling: this time (as opposed to other times) / for once / this time around. In your sentence, В этот раз я не опоздал... is fully natural; На этот раз я не опоздал... is also natural and can sound a bit more “contrasting.”
What case is этот раз, and why?

раз is masculine, so этот is the masculine nominative/accusative form.
In В этот раз, the preposition в is used with the accusative to mean “at a time/occasion” (a “point in time” usage). So it’s в + accusative: в этот раз.

Why is there я? Can it be omitted?

Yes, я is optional because the verb ending already shows the subject in past tense by gender/number (and context).

  • В этот раз не опоздал на семинар. = perfectly fine in conversation. You keep я when you want emphasis/contrast: I (not someone else) wasn’t late.
Why is the verb опоздал (past tense) and not present/future?

Russian uses past tense here because it refers to a completed past situation: you’re talking about a particular seminar that already happened.
Form: опоздать (infinitive) → past masculine singular опоздал.

What if the speaker is female (or plural)?

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

  • male speaker: я не опоздал
  • female speaker: я не опоздала
  • “we”: мы не опоздали
Why is опоздать used (perfective)? What’s the imperfective form?

опоздать is perfective: it focuses on the result/event of being late (or not being late) for something.

  • imperfective: опаздывать Compare:
  • В этот раз я не опоздал на семинар. = This time I didn’t end up being late (the event of lateness didn’t happen).
  • В этот раз я не опаздывал. = This time I wasn’t running late / wasn’t in a state of being late (more process/background).
Why is it не опоздал (negation) and not something like a different case after не?

With verbs, negation is usually just не + verb: не опоздал.
The “genitive under negation” idea mainly affects direct objects with some verbs (e.g., не видел друга/друга), but опоздать doesn’t take a direct object like that here.

Why is it на семинар and not в семинар or на семинаре?

Because опоздать typically uses на + accusative for events/appointments you’re late for:

  • опоздать на урок / на встречу / на поезд / на семинар на семинар (accusative) answers “late for what?”
  • на семинаре (prepositional) would mean “at the seminar” (location), not “for the seminar.”
  • в семинар is not used; в would be for going into a place, but семинар is an event, not a container-like place.
What case is семинар in, and how do I know?

It’s accusative singular after на (direction/target, “for” an event).
For masculine inanimate nouns like семинар, the accusative looks the same as nominative: семинар.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Я в этот раз не опоздал на семинар?

Word order is flexible, and several versions are natural:

  • В этот раз я не опоздал на семинар. (topic/time first; very common)
  • Я в этот раз не опоздал на семинар. (emphasizes I a bit more)
  • Я не опоздал на семинар в этот раз. (adds “this time” as an afterthought) Changes mainly affect emphasis, not basic meaning.
How is опоздал pronounced/stressed, and what should I watch for?

Stress is опоздАл (final syllable): o-poz-DAL.
Also note the consonant cluster позд: many learners want to insert a vowel, but it’s pronounced tightly: опоздал (approximately uh-paz-DAL).