Breakdown of Позавчера была очень тёплая погода.
очень
very
погода
the weather
быть
to be
позавчера
the day before yesterday
Questions & Answers about Позавчера была очень тёплая погода.
Why do we use была instead of был or было here?
In the past tense, the verb быть (to be) changes to match the gender of the subject. The subject here is погода (weather), which is a feminine noun because it ends in -а. Therefore, we use the feminine past tense form была.
How does the adjective тёплая match the rest of the sentence?
Just like the verb была, adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Since погода is a feminine, singular noun acting as the subject, the adjective takes the feminine ending -ая to become тёплая.
Is the word order strictly fixed here, or could I say Погода была очень тёплая позавчера?
Russian word order is very flexible! You can absolutely say Погода была очень тёплая позавчера, and it means the same thing. Putting позавчера (the day before yesterday) at the beginning just sets the time frame right away, which is a very natural way to set the scene in Russian.
How is the word позавчера related to the word for yesterday?
The Russian word for yesterday is вчера. The prefix поза- adds the meaning of the one before. So adding it creates позавчера, which means the day before yesterday.