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Questions & Answers about В марте весна.
Why is there no word for 'it' or 'is' in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' (is/are) is normally left out. Additionally, Russian does not use a placeholder word like 'it' for weather or seasons. To say 'it is spring,' you just say весна (spring).
Why does the word for March end in an -е here (марте)?
The dictionary form of the word is март. Because we are saying 'in March,' we use the preposition в (in) followed by the Prepositional case. For a masculine noun ending in a consonant like март, this means adding an -е to the end.
Do I pause between в and марте when speaking?
No, you should pronounce them together as if they were a single word. Because the letter м is a voiced consonant, the preposition в keeps its normal 'v' sound, so it sounds like 'vmar-tye'.
Could I change the word order and say Весна в марте?
Yes, but the focus shifts slightly. В марте весна sets the time first, answering 'What is the season in March?' Putting the season first (Весна в марте) sounds more like you are answering 'When is spring?' Russian uses word order to show what the main point of the sentence is.