Questions & Answers about Мы давно там были.
Why do we use были here instead of был or была?
The verb form были is the plural past tense of быть (to be). Because the subject is мы (we), which is plural, we must use the plural form. As a reminder, you use был for masculine singular, была for feminine singular, and было for neuter singular.
Why is the verb были at the end of the sentence?
Russian word order is much more flexible than English! While you absolutely can say Мы были там давно, putting the verb at the end is very natural in Russian. Putting it at the end lightly emphasizes the other details in the sentence—in this case, when (давно) and where (там) you were.
Does давно literally mean "a long time ago"?
Yes! The word давно is an adverb that specifically relates to time. Depending on the context, it translates to "a long time ago" or "for a long time". If you want to say something is physically long, like a road or a piece of string, you would use a completely different word.
Since давно can mean "for a long time", could this sentence mean "We have been there for a long time" (and are still there)?
No, because были is explicitly in the past tense. It means the action is complete and you are no longer there. To say you have been somewhere for a long time and are still there, Russian actually drops the verb entirely and implies the present tense: Мы давно там.
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