Breakdown of В четверг я обычно читаю журнал.
я
I
журнал
magazine
читать
to read
обычно
usually
в
on / during (a time period)
четверг
Thursday
Questions & Answers about В четверг я обычно читаю журнал.
Why is 'on Thursday' translated as в четверг?
To say that something happens 'on' a specific day of the week, Russian uses the preposition в followed by the day in the Accusative case. This structure is used to answer the question Когда? (When?).
If days of the week take the Accusative case here, why didn't the ending of четверг change?
In Russian, masculine nouns that represent non-living things (inanimate nouns) look exactly the same in the Accusative case as they do in their basic dictionary form. Since четверг is masculine and inanimate, it does not get a special ending.
Does that same rule apply to журнал?
Exactly! Журнал (magazine) is the direct object being acted upon by the verb читаю (I read), so it must also be in the Accusative case. Because it is another non-living masculine noun, its form stays exactly the same as the dictionary form.
How should I pronounce в четверг? Do I pause after the в?
Do not pause! Prepositions blend right into the word that follows them. Also, because the в is immediately followed by the voiceless sound ч, the в loses its voice and sounds like an English 'f'. You pronounce it all together as one word: 'fchet-vyerk'.
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