Breakdown of Нам пора бы выходить пораньше, чтобы после работы успевать в зал без спешки.
в
to
работа
the work
после
after
чтобы
so that
Questions & Answers about Нам пора бы выходить пораньше, чтобы после работы успевать в зал без спешки.
Why is нам used instead of мы?
Because пора normally goes with the dative case, not the nominative.
So:
- нам пора = it’s time for us
- literally, something like to us, it is time
This is a very common Russian impersonal pattern:
- мне пора = it’s time for me
- тебе пора = it’s time for you
- нам пора = it’s time for us
So мы пора would be ungrammatical.
What exactly does пора бы mean, and what does бы add here?
Пора by itself means it’s time.
Adding бы makes it softer and more tentative, and often gives a sense of:
- we really should
- it would be a good idea to
- it’s probably about time
So:
- Нам пора выходить пораньше = It’s time for us to leave earlier
- Нам пора бы выходить пораньше = We really should start leaving earlier
The particle бы often adds a slight nuance of suggestion, mild regret, or delayed action. It can sound like the speaker feels this should already have been happening.
Why is the verb выходить imperfective, not выйти?