Breakdown of Врач работает в аптеке, а студент работает в магазине.
а
and (contrastive)
студент
student (m)
врач
doctor
работать
to work
в
in / to (direction)
магазин
store, shop
аптека
pharmacy
Questions & Answers about Врач работает в аптеке, а студент работает в магазине.
Why do both аптеке and магазине end in -е here, even though one is a feminine word and the other is masculine?
This is the Prepositional case, which we use to talk about locations. To say 'in' or 'at' a place, most masculine nouns ending in a consonant (like магазин) and feminine nouns ending in -а (like аптека) both take the exact same ending: -е.
Why is the word а used here to mean 'and' instead of и?
In Russian, а is a contrasting word that sits somewhere between 'and' and 'but' (like 'whereas'). We use it here because we are pointing out a contrast or shifting focus from one person (the doctor) to another (the student). If we used и, it would sound like a simple list rather than a comparison.
Why does the verb работает end in -ет?
The ending -ет is the 'he/she/it' form of the verb работать (to work). Because our subjects are 'the doctor' and 'the student' (which act as 'he' or 'she'), we must use this singular ending instead of the 'I' or 'they' forms.
How should I pronounce the preposition в before these words?
Single-letter prepositions like в attach directly to the next word when you speak, with no pause in between. You should pronounce в аптеке smoothly as one word: ваптеке.
There is no word for 'the' in this sentence. How do we know it is 'the doctor' and not 'a doctor'?
Russian does not have articles like 'the' or 'a'. You always have to figure it out from the context. We translated it with 'the' here because it sounds natural in English, but depending on the conversation, this exact same Russian sentence could also mean 'A doctor works in a pharmacy...'
Learn Врач работает в аптеке, а студент работает в магазине and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free