Утром мне некогда долго кипятить молоко, поэтому я просто делаю кофе.

In the morning I have no time to boil milk for long, so I just make coffee.

Breakdown of Утром мне некогда долго кипятить молоко, поэтому я просто делаю кофе.

• я: I
• кофе: the coffee
• делать: to make
• просто: just

Questions & Answers about Утром мне некогда долго кипятить молоко, поэтому я просто делаю кофе.

Why is утром used here, and what exactly does it mean?

Утром means in the morning.

It is the instrumental form of утро (morning), but in Russian some time expressions are commonly used in the instrumental to mean at / in a certain time:

• утром = in the morning
• днём = in the daytime / in the afternoon
• вечером = in the evening
• ночью = at night

So Утром мне некогда... means In the morning, I don’t have time...

A learner may also notice that утром often refers to a general morning situation, while по утрам means in the mornings / every morning with a stronger habitual sense.

---

What does мне некогда mean literally, and why is мне in the dative?