Breakdown of У меня нет абонемента в этот фитнес-клуб.
я
I
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
в
in / to (direction)
у
at, by
Questions & Answers about У меня нет абонемента в этот фитнес-клуб.
How would I say "I don't have the pass with me" using this lesson's grammar?
You would use the reflexive phrase с собой (with oneself) and say У меня нет с собой абонемента. The sentence as it is currently written just says У меня нет, which implies you don't own a fitness pass at all. Adding с собой changes it to mean you own one, but you left it at home.
Why is the word for "pass" spelled абонемента instead of абонемент?
This happens because of the word нет. In Russian, нет (when used to mean "there is no" or "do not have") always forces the missing object into the Genitive case. Since абонемент is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, it takes the -а ending.
Why do we use в (в этот фитнес-клуб) to say a pass "to" the club?
In English, we say a pass or ticket "to" a place, but Russian uses в (into) or на (onto) plus the Accusative case to show access or entry into that place. Since фитнес-клуб is an inanimate masculine noun, its Accusative form here looks exactly the same as its dictionary form.
How do compound borrowed words like фитнес-клуб work when changing cases?
They follow standard Russian noun rules, but usually only the second half of the word changes. The first part, фитнес, stays frozen as a prefix, while клуб takes normal masculine endings. For instance, if you were talking about being inside the club, you would say в фитнес-клубе using the Prepositional case.