Breakdown of Завтра мы собираемся поехать в деревню.
мы
we
в
in / to (direction)
деревня
village
завтра
tomorrow
собираться
to intend
поехать
to go (by transport)
Questions & Answers about Завтра мы собираемся поехать в деревню.
I see по in поехать. Is this the dative preposition по we are learning in this lesson?
No, here по- is a prefix attached to the verb ехать (to go by transport), creating the perfective verb поехать. The preposition по (meaning 'along' or 'by means of') is a separate word that is followed by the dative case. It doesn't actually appear in this sentence!
Doesn't собираемся usually mean 'we are gathering'?
It can! The reflexive verb собираться literally means 'to gather oneself' (like packing your bags). However, when it is followed by an infinitive verb like поехать, it becomes the standard everyday way to say 'we are planning to' or 'we are getting ready to' do something.
Why is it в деревню instead of в деревне?
Because there is motion towards a destination. When you are going to a place, the preposition в requires the accusative case, changing the feminine ending of деревня to -ю. If you were already located in the village, you would use the prepositional case (в деревне).
Why do we use поехать here instead of пойти?
Russian has different verbs of motion depending on whether you are walking or taking transport. A village (деревня) is usually far enough away that you need to drive or take a train. Поехать specifically means 'to go by transport,' whereas пойти would mean you are going there on foot.
Since the sentence starts with Завтра (tomorrow), why is the verb собираемся in the present tense?
The action of planning or intending is happening right now, even though the trip itself will happen tomorrow. It works just like English: 'Tomorrow we are planning (present) to go (future action).'
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