Breakdown of Вчера мы были там, а сегодня мы здесь.
здесь
here
а
and (contrastive)
там
there
мы
we
вчера
yesterday
быть
to be
сегодня
today
Questions & Answers about Вчера мы были там, а сегодня мы здесь.
Why is there a verb for "were" (были) but no verb for "are" after сегодня?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (am, is, are) is usually skipped. So, сегодня мы здесь literally means "today we here." But in the past tense, you must use the verb! That's why вчера (yesterday) is paired with the past tense verb были (were).
How do I know whether to use был, была, or были with вчера?
Past tense verbs in Russian change based on the gender and number of the subject. Since the subject here is мы (we), which is plural, you use the plural past tense form были. If the sentence was about "he," you would use был, and for "she," you would use была.
The translation says "and today," but isn't the word for "and" usually и? Why use а here?
а is a special connecting word that can mean "and" or "but" when you are pointing out a contrast. Because this sentence contrasts where we were yesterday (вчера) with where we are today (сегодня), а is the perfect fit. Using и here would sound unnatural, like you are just listing facts rather than comparing two different situations.
Why does сегодня have a "г" in it if the audio pronounces it with a "v" sound?
This is a classic pronunciation exception you just have to memorize! The word сегодня historically comes from two words meaning "of this day" (сего дня). In Russian, the endings -его and -ого are pronounced with a "v" sound instead of a "g". So, always pronounce it as "se-vod-nya".
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