Learn Russian: Буфет в институте. - The snack bar is at the institute.

In Russian, the present tense of the verb to be is almost always skipped. You just say the equivalent of "Snack bar in institute" (Буфет в институте), and the word "is" is automatically understood.

Why does the word for institute end in -е (институте)?

Because it is answering the question "where?". Since the snack bar is located at or in the institute, the word институт takes the Prepositional case. For most masculine nouns ending in a consonant, we add -е to the end to show location.

Does буфет mean the same thing as a "buffet" in English?

Not exactly. While it looks and sounds like "buffet", a буфет in Russia is usually a small snack bar, cafe, or canteen where you buy light meals, pastries, and drinks. You will often find them inside universities, theaters, and train stations.

How should I pronounce the preposition в in this sentence?

The preposition в is pronounced together with the next word as if they were one single word. Because the next word starts with a vowel, the в keeps its normal English "v" sound, making the phrase sound like винституте.