Questions & Answers about Школа недалеко.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (is, am, are) is almost always skipped. You simply put the subject and the describing word side by side: Школа (school) and недалеко (not far).
Why doesn't the ending of недалеко change to match the feminine word Школа?
Because недалеко is an adverb, and adverbs never change their endings. Just like the adverbs хорошо (well) and плохо (badly) from this lesson, недалеко stays exactly the same no matter what noun it is talking about.
Why is недалеко written as a single word instead of не далеко?
Adding не directly to the front of an adverb ending in -o is very common in Russian. Writing it as one word turns it into a brand new concept meaning "nearby" or "close," rather than just putting a negative word next to the word "far."
Can I switch the words around and say Недалеко школа?
Yes! Russian word order is very flexible. However, the word at the end of the sentence usually carries the most important new information. Школа недалеко emphasizes that it is NOT FAR, while Недалеко школа emphasizes that the thing nearby is a SCHOOL.
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