В борщ я всегда добавляю укроп и петрушку.

I always add dill and parsley to borscht.

Breakdown of В борщ я всегда добавляю укроп и петрушку.

• я: I
• в: to
• и: and
• всегда: always

Questions & Answers about В борщ я всегда добавляю укроп и петрушку.

Why is it в борщ, and what case is борщ in?

Борщ is in the accusative singular here, because в can mean into when it shows movement or direction.

With добавлять (to add), Russian often expresses the destination with в + accusative:

• добавить соль в суп = to add salt to the soup
• добавить сахар в чай = to add sugar to the tea

So в борщ literally means into the borscht.

Also, борщ is a masculine inanimate noun, so its accusative singular looks the same as the nominative:

• nominative: борщ
• accusative: борщ

Why is я included? Could it be left out?

Yes, it could be left out.

Russian often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear. So both are possible:

• В борщ всегда добавляю укроп и петрушку.
• В борщ я всегда добавляю укроп и петрушку.

Including я can add a bit of emphasis or contrast, something like:

• As for me, I always add dill and parsley to borscht.

So я is not required for grammar, but it can help shape the tone.

Why is the word order like this? Could it also be Я всегда добавляю укроп и петрушку в борщ?