Breakdown of Сегодня каждый бегун проходит мимо старого театра.
театр
theater
старый
old
сегодня
today
каждый
every
бегун
runner
проходить
to pass
мимо
past (moving by)
Questions & Answers about Сегодня каждый бегун проходит мимо старого театра.
What does the prefix про- add to the verb ходит in this sentence?
The prefix про- on a verb of motion generally means moving "through" or "past" something. Together with the preposition мимо (past/by), проходит specifically means the runner is moving past the theater.
Since ходить usually means walking aimlessly or making round trips, why is it used here for runners just passing by?
When you add a prefix to a multidirectional verb of motion like ходить, it simply becomes a regular imperfective verb. проходит is imperfective and is used here because the action is in the present tense and happens repeatedly ("every" runner). To say a runner will pass by once in the future, you would use the perfective counterpart пройдёт (which is built on идти).
Why do we say старого театра instead of старый театр?
The phrase is in the genitive case because it follows the preposition мимо (past/by). In Russian, мимо always forces the following noun and its adjectives into the genitive case.
Could we drop мимо and just say проходит старый театр?
It would change the meaning! If you use проходить directly with a noun in the accusative case, it usually means walking through that space, or completing it as a stage of a route. To specifically mean passing by something on the outside, you need the combination of проходить + мимо + genitive case.
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