Breakdown of В мороз нельзя долго гулять.
долго
for a long time
гулять
to walk
нельзя
one must not
мороз
frost
Questions & Answers about В мороз нельзя долго гулять.
How would I change this sentence to the past or future tense?
Since this is an impersonal expression, you use the neuter past or future forms of the verb to be. For the past, add было after нельзя to make В мороз нельзя было долго гулять. For the future, add будет to make В мороз нельзя будет долго гулять.
How would I specify who is not allowed to walk for long?
You would add the person in the dative case. For example, to say 'He must not walk for long in a frost', you would add ему (the dative pronoun for 'he') and say В мороз ему нельзя долго гулять. Because there is no dative pronoun in this sentence, it acts as a general rule that applies to everyone.
Why do we use the imperfective verb гулять here instead of the perfective?
When нельзя is used with an imperfective verb like гулять, it expresses a prohibition, meaning 'one must not' or 'one shouldn't'. If you used a perfective verb, it would change the meaning to physical impossibility, meaning it is literally impossible to complete the walk.
What case is мороз in, and why?
It is in the accusative case. The preposition в followed by the accusative is often used to describe weather conditions during which an action takes place, like в мороз (during a frost). Because мороз is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form looks exactly like its nominative dictionary form.
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