Breakdown of На улице снег, поэтому нам будет холодно сегодня.
улица
street
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
быть
to be
сегодня
today
нам
to us
поэтому
so (therefore)
холодно
cold (adverb)
снег
snow
Questions & Answers about На улице снег, поэтому нам будет холодно сегодня.
Why is it нам будет холодно instead of using мы (we)?
In Russian, physical states like being cold, hot, or sad are expressed impersonally. You do not say 'we will be cold,' but rather 'to us it will be cold.' The person experiencing the feeling goes in the Dative case (нам), followed by the neuter future verb будет (it will be) and the adverb холодно.
Could I say мы будем холодными instead to mean 'we will be cold'?
No, that would sound very strange! Saying мы будем холодными with an adjective implies that your personality is cold and unfeeling, or that your physical body is cold to the touch. Always use the impersonal Dative + adverb structure for feeling cold.
Why does the sentence use на улице to mean 'outside'?
Literally, на улице means 'on the street.' However, this is the most common everyday phrase Russians use to say 'outside' or 'outdoors,' especially when talking about the weather.
Why is there no word for 'is' or 'there is' in На улице снег?
Russian almost always drops the present tense of the verb 'to be.' You do not need a word for 'there is' here. You simply state the location (на улице) and the subject (снег), which literally translates as 'Outside [is] snow.'
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