Breakdown of Перед работой мне нечего было есть, кроме банана и груши.
я
I
есть
to eat
быть
to be
работа
the work
Questions & Answers about Перед работой мне нечего было есть, кроме банана и груши.
Why is работой in the instrumental case?
Because the preposition перед normally takes the instrumental case when it means before or in front of.
- работа = work
- перед работой = before work
So this is not the accusative or genitive form; it is the singular instrumental of работа.
Does перед работой mean before going to work or before starting work?
It can mean either, depending on context. In everyday Russian, перед работой often simply means before work in a general sense, just like in English. It does not have to spell out whether that means before leaving for work, before arriving, or before the workday begins.
Why is мне used here?
Мне is the dative form of я, and Russian often uses the dative in impersonal constructions like this.
Literally, the structure is something like:
- мне нечего было есть
- to me there was nothing to eat
This is a very common Russian way to express I had nothing to eat.
What exactly is нечего?