Breakdown of Вы всегда празднуете Рождество в декабре?
вы
you (plural or formal)
всегда
always
в
on / during (a time period)
декабрь
December
Questions & Answers about Вы всегда празднуете Рождество в декабре?
Why is it в декабре and not just в декабрь?
To say that something happens in a certain month, Russian uses the preposition в (in) plus the Prepositional case. Since the dictionary form декабрь (December) is masculine and ends in a soft sign, that soft sign changes to an -е, giving us в декабре.
Why does the verb празднуете have a -у- in the middle?
The dictionary form of the verb is праздн-ова-ть (to celebrate). In Russian, verbs that end in -овать have a special rule: in the present tense, the -ова- drops out and is replaced by -у- before you add the usual personal endings. So, instead of 'праздноваете', it correctly becomes празднуете.
Is Рождество in the Accusative case here since it's the direct object?
Yes, it is in the Accusative case because it is the thing being celebrated. However, because Рождество (Christmas) is a neuter noun and represents an inanimate concept, its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary form.
Does the stress shift when we say в декабре?
Yes! In the dictionary form декабрь, the stress is on the letter а. But when we put it into the Prepositional case to say в декабре, the stress moves to the final letter е.