Questions & Answers about Летом у нас отдых.
Why is it Летом and not just Лето?
Лето is the dictionary word for "summer". To say "in the summer" or "during the summer", Russian changes the noun's ending. Here it takes the -ом ending (a grammar form called the Instrumental case). You will see this pattern with other seasons too, like зимой for "in winter".
How does у нас translate to "we have"?
Russian rarely uses a direct verb for "to have". Instead, it uses the preposition у (meaning "by" or "at") plus the person who has the thing. У нас literally means "at us".
Where is the verb in this sentence?
There isn't one! In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (is, am, are) is almost always dropped. The literal translation of this sentence is "In summer, at us [is] a holiday," so the "is" is simply left out.
Can I change the word order to У нас отдых летом?
Yes, you can. Russian word order is very flexible. Starting with Летом puts a slight emphasis on the time, acting as if you are answering the question "When do you have a holiday?". If you started with У нас, it would be a more neutral statement of fact.
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