Questions & Answers about Мы гуляли около полей.
Why does the word for fields end in -ей here?
The dictionary form of this noun is поле (field), which is a neuter noun ending in -е. In the Genitive plural, nouns that end in -е generally change their ending to -ей. Therefore, поле becomes полей.
I learned that neuter nouns in the Genitive plural usually drop their ending (like окно becoming окон). Why is поле different?
That is a great observation! While neuter nouns ending in the hard vowel -о typically drop their ending in the Genitive plural, neuter nouns ending in the soft vowel -е (like поле or море) follow a different pattern and take the -ей ending instead.
Why do we need the Genitive case in this sentence?
The preposition около (near or around) always forces the noun that follows it into the Genitive case. Since there is more than one field, we use the Genitive plural form полей.
Why use the imperfective verb гуляли instead of a perfective verb?
The imperfective verb гуляли is used because the action describes an ongoing, continuous process in the past. It emphasizes the relaxed activity of strolling near the fields for a period of time, rather than a completed, one-time trip with a specific destination.