Мы долго торговались.

Долго is an adverb, meaning for a long time.

In this sentence, it describes how long the action lasted, so Russian uses an adverb:

• Мы долго торговались. = We bargained for a long time.

By contrast:

• долгий is an adjective meaning long and would describe a noun:
  • долгий разговор = a long conversation
• длинный usually refers more to physical length:
  • длинная улица = a long street

So долго is the correct form because it modifies the verb торговались.

Торговались is the past-tense plural form of торговаться.

In this sentence, it means something like:

• bargained
• haggled
• negotiated the price

So Мы долго торговались means We bargained for a long time or We haggled for a long time.

Depending on context, торговаться usually refers specifically to discussing a price, especially in a market or informal buying situation.

Yes, торговались is a reflexive verb form, from торговаться.

The -ся / -сь ending often marks a reflexive verb in Russian, but it does not always mean a literal reflexive action like wash oneself. Sometimes it creates a verb with a different meaning.

Here the difference is important:

• торговать = to trade, to sell
• торговаться = to bargain, to haggle

So the -ся here is part of the vocabulary item. You should learn торговаться as its own verb, not as simply торговать + oneself.

Because those are two different verbs:

• торговали = from торговать
  meaning they/we traded or sold
• торговались = from торговаться
  meaning they/we bargained / haggled

So:

• Мы торговали. = We traded / We were selling.
• Мы торговались. = We bargained / We were haggling.

The -сь changes the meaning significantly.

Because the subject is мы = we.

In Russian past tense, the verb agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• singular masculine: торговался
• singular feminine: торговалась
• singular neuter: торговалось
• plural: торговались

Since мы is plural, Russian uses торговались.

Unlike the present tense, past tense in Russian does not show person directly in the ending; instead, it mainly shows gender/number.

Торговаться is imperfective.

That matters because the sentence focuses on the duration/process of the action:

• Мы долго торговались. = We were bargaining for a long time / We bargained for a long time.

The adverb долго fits very naturally with the imperfective, because imperfective verbs are often used for:

• ongoing actions
• repeated actions
• actions viewed as a process

A perfective verb would usually give a different nuance, such as reaching a result or completing the bargaining.

There are related perfective verbs, but the choice depends on the exact meaning.

Two common ones are:

• поторговаться = to bargain for a while
• сторговаться = to come to an agreement on the price, to bargain successfully

So:

• Мы долго торговались. focuses on the process.
• Мы сторговались. would suggest We reached a deal or We agreed on the price.

This is a good example of how Russian aspect pairs are sometimes not perfectly one-to-one in meaning.

Normally, no.

Because the verb is торговаться, the usual meaning is to bargain / haggle, not to trade in the general sense.

If you wanted We traded for a long time, you would more likely use торговать:

• Мы долго торговали.

So the reflexive form strongly points toward bargaining over terms or price.

Russian does not need to state everything if it is clear from context.

Торговаться can stand on its own:

• Мы долго торговались. = We bargained for a long time.

But you can add more information if needed:

• Мы долго торговались с продавцом. = We bargained with the seller for a long time.
• Мы долго торговались из-за цены. = We bargained for a long time over the price.

So the sentence is complete as it is; the missing details are simply not being mentioned.

Мы долго торговались is a neutral, natural word order:

• subject → adverb → verb

Russian word order is flexible, so other orders are possible, but they change emphasis:

• Мы долго торговались.
  neutral: We bargained for a long time.
• Долго мы торговались.
  stronger emphasis on for a long time
• Торговались мы долго.
  often sounds more contrastive or stylistically marked

So the original sentence is the most straightforward way to say it.

The stress is:

• мы до́лго торгова́лись

A rough pronunciation guide:

• мы ≈ mɨ (the vowel is Russian ы, which has no exact English equivalent)
• до́лго ≈ DOL-ga
• торгова́лись ≈ tar-ga-VAL-is’

A more phonetic approximation:

• [mɨ ˈdolɡə tərɡɐˈvalʲɪsʲ]

The main thing to remember is the stress:

• до́лго
• торгова́лись

Yes. In English, Russian imperfective past often translates in more than one way depending on context.

So Мы долго торговались can be rendered as:

• We bargained for a long time
• We were bargaining for a long time

The Russian sentence itself does not force the same tense distinction that English does. The important idea is that the action is viewed as a process lasting some time.

It could sometimes be omitted if the context already makes the subject obvious:

• Долго торговались.

However, Russian usually keeps the subject more often than languages like Spanish or Italian, especially when clarity is helpful.

Including мы makes the sentence explicit and neutral:

• Мы долго торговались. = We bargained for a long time.

Without мы, the sentence may sound more contextual, like part of a story where the participants are already known.