Questions & Answers about Утром у нас завтрак.
Why is there no verb in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense word for "is" is usually left out. Literally, this sentence says "In the morning, by us [is] breakfast." Since your current lesson is about regular past tense verbs, you might wonder how to put this in the past! You could use the regular verb завтракать (to eat breakfast) and say Утром мы завтракали. Alternatively, you can keep this exact sentence structure and just add the past tense word for "was" (был) to say Утром у нас был завтрак.
Why is the word for morning spelled утром instead of just утро?
To say "in the morning," Russian does not use a preposition like "in." Instead, it changes the ending of the noun утро (morning) to -ом. This special ending (part of the instrumental case) is commonly used to turn parts of the day and seasons into "when" words.
How does у нас translate to "we have"?
Russian rarely uses a direct verb for "to have." Instead, possession is expressed by saying something is "at" or "by" someone. The preposition у means "by," and нас is the required form of мы (we) that follows it. Literally, the phrase means "by us."
Why isn't the word есть (is/exists) used here, like in У меня есть брат (I have a brother)?
When talking about having meals, scheduled events, or illnesses, Russian speakers usually drop the word есть. Adding it here would sound a bit unnatural, as if you are emphasizing the physical existence of the breakfast food rather than the routine event of eating it.
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