Breakdown of После совещания ей было не до шуток, потому что начальница говорила слишком резко.
говорить
to speak
быть
to be
потому что
because
после
after
Questions & Answers about После совещания ей было не до шуток, потому что начальница говорила слишком резко.
Why is после followed by совещания and not совещание?
Because после always requires the genitive case in Russian.
- совещание = the basic dictionary form, nominative
- после совещания = after the meeting
So:
- совещание → nominative
- совещания → genitive singular
This is a very common pattern:
- после урока = after the lesson
- после работы = after work
- после фильма = after the film
Why is it ей? What role does that word play in the sentence?
Ей is the dative case of она and means to her.
In this sentence, Russian uses an impersonal structure:
- ей было не до шуток
Literally, this is something like:
- to her it was not up to jokes
A more natural English meaning is:
- she was in no mood for jokes
- she didn’t feel like joking
The dative is used because the feeling or state is being presented as something experienced by her, rather than as a direct action she performs.
What does было не до шуток mean exactly?