Questions & Answers about Город не здесь, а там.
Where is the verb "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the verb "to be" is almost never used in the present tense. Instead of saying "The city is not here", you simply say "City not here" (Город не здесь).
Why does не go right before здесь?
To negate a specific fact in Russian, you place не immediately before the word you are negating. Since we are saying the city is not here, не goes directly in front of здесь (here). This works perfectly even when there is no verb in the sentence.
Can I use нет instead of не here?
No. Нет is used as the standalone word "no" (like when answering a question). When you want to make a specific word negative inside a sentence, like saying "not here", you must use the short word не.
Why does the sentence use а instead of но for the word "but"?
Russian has two common words for "but". You use а when making a direct contrast or correcting a negative statement (not this, but that). Since we are contrasting не здесь (not here) with там (there), а is the exact word you need.
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