Breakdown of В ресторане сначала подали салат, а потом горячий суп.
ресторан
the restaurant
в
at
салат
the salad
горячий
hot
Questions & Answers about В ресторане сначала подали салат, а потом горячий суп.
Why is it в ресторане, not в ресторан?
Because в ресторане means in the restaurant as a location, not motion toward it.
- в + accusative = motion into somewhere
- в ресторан = into the restaurant / to the restaurant
- в + prepositional = being located somewhere
- в ресторане = in the restaurant
Here the sentence describes what happened while people were already there, so в ресторане is correct.
What does сначала ... а потом ... mean exactly?
It means first ... and then ...
- сначала = at first / first
- потом = then / afterward
Together they mark sequence very clearly:
- сначала подали салат = first they served salad
- а потом горячий суп = and then hot soup
This is a very common pattern in Russian for putting events in order.
Why is the verb подали plural if there is no subject?