Breakdown of После работы мы пошли на каток, хотя уже начиналась метель.
пойти
to go
на
to
работа
the work
мы
we
Questions & Answers about После работы мы пошли на каток, хотя уже начиналась метель.
Why is it после работы, not после работа?
Because после requires the genitive case in Russian.
- Base form: работа = work, job
- Genitive singular: работы
So после работы means after work or after the workday.
This is a very common pattern:
- после урока = after the lesson
- после обеда = after lunch
- после фильма = after the movie
Why is пошли used instead of шли?
Пошли is the perfective past of пойти, and here it means we went / we set off.
The difference is:
- шли = were going, were on the way, went in a process-oriented sense
- пошли = started going, set off, went as a completed action
In this sentence, the speaker is describing a completed event: after work, we went to the skating rink. That is why пошли is the natural choice.
If you said После работы мы шли на каток, it would sound more like After work we were walking/going to the skating rink, focusing on the process rather than the fact that they went there.
Why is it на каток and not в каток?