Во сколько заканчивается урок?

Во сколько is the standard Russian way to say at what time? when asking about clock time.

The preposition во is a variant of в used for easier pronunciation before certain sound combinations. With сколько, Russian normally uses the fixed expression во сколько.

So:

• Во сколько начинается урок? = What time does the lesson start?
• Во сколько заканчивается урок? = What time does the lesson end?

By itself, сколько usually means how much or how many.

But во сколько is an idiomatic phrase meaning at what time.

Compare:

• Сколько студентов? = How many students?
• Во сколько урок? = What time is the lesson?

So in this sentence, во сколько is not asking for a quantity. It is asking for a specific time on the clock.

Because урок is the subject of the sentence.

The sentence is built like this:

• урок = the lesson
• заканчивается = ends / is ending

So the meaning is literally At what time does the lesson end? The lesson is the thing doing the ending, so it stays in the nominative.

Compare:

• Урок заканчивается. = The lesson ends.
• Учитель заканчивает урок. = The teacher ends the lesson.

In the second sentence, урок is the object, so it becomes accusative.

Because this sentence uses the verb заканчиваться, not заканчивать.

• заканчивать = to finish something / to bring something to an end
• заканчиваться = to end / to come to an end

So:

• Учитель заканчивает урок. = The teacher ends the lesson.
• Урок заканчивается. = The lesson ends.

The -ся form is very common in Russian when something happens to the subject itself or when the verb is used intransitively.

Not really in a literal, logical sense. In Russian, -ся often creates a verb that works differently from the non--ся version. Here it makes the verb intransitive.

So заканчивается should simply be understood as ends.

It is better not to translate it word-for-word as ends itself. That sounds unnatural in English and does not reflect how the Russian verb is actually used.

Grammatically, заканчивается is present tense.

However, Russian often uses the present tense when talking about:

• regular events
• schedules
• timetables

So Во сколько заканчивается урок? can mean:

• What time does the lesson end?
• What time is the lesson scheduled to end?

If you want a more clearly one-time future meaning, Russian can also use:

• Во сколько закончится урок?

That version uses the perfective future and often sounds more like What time will the lesson end?

Both can be translated as When does the lesson end?, but they are not exactly the same.

• Во сколько...? asks for a clock time
• Когда...? asks more generally when

So:

• Во сколько заканчивается урок? expects an answer like В два часа or В 2:15
• Когда заканчивается урок? could also be answered with a time, but it is broader and may depend on context

If you specifically want the time on the clock, во сколько is the better choice.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible.

The version here,

• Во сколько заканчивается урок?

is a very natural, neutral way to say it.

Other possible versions include:

• Во сколько урок заканчивается?
• Урок во сколько заканчивается?

These can sound slightly different in emphasis or style, but the basic meaning stays the same. For a learner, the original version is a very good default.

Because the subject урок is:

• third person
• singular
• masculine

So the verb must agree with it:

• урок заканчивается = the lesson ends

If the subject were plural, the verb would change:

• уроки заканчиваются = the lessons end

The main stresses are:

• во скОлько закАнчивается урОк?

A rough pronunciation guide:

• va SKOL-ka za-KAN-chi-va-yet-sa oo-ROK

A few notes:

• во is usually pronounced more like va
• сколько has stress on скОль-
• заканчивается has stress on кАн
• урок has stress on the last syllable: урОк

Yes, depending on context.

• урок often means a lesson or a school class period
• занятие can mean a class session, lesson, or study session

So you could also say:

• Во сколько заканчивается занятие?

That may sound a bit broader or slightly more formal, depending on the situation. In a school context, урок is extremely natural.