Breakdown of Мы здесь, перед забором.
здесь
here
мы
we
перед
in front of / of (with fear) / before (in time)
забор
fence
Questions & Answers about Мы здесь, перед забором.
Why does the word for fence end in '-ом' here?
The preposition перед (in front of) requires the noun to be in the Instrumental case when describing a location. Since the dictionary form забор (fence) is a masculine noun ending in a hard consonant, we add -ом to make it забором.
Does перед only mean 'in front of' physically?
It is used for time as well! Just like in English, перед can mean physically 'in front of' (as in this sentence) or 'before' an event. For example, перед ужином means 'before dinner'. Both uses require the Instrumental case.
Why isn't there a verb for 'are' in the Russian sentence?
In the present tense, Russian almost always leaves out the verb 'to be' (am, is, are). That is why 'We are here' translates directly as just Мы здесь (literally 'We here').
Could I use тут instead of здесь for 'here'?
Yes, you could absolutely say Мы тут. Both words mean 'here' and are mostly interchangeable, though тут is slightly more informal and common in everyday spoken Russian.
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