Breakdown of Оттуда до метро недалеко.
метро
subway
недалеко
not far, nearby
до
before, until
оттуда
from there
Questions & Answers about Оттуда до метро недалеко.
I know the word for "there" is там. Why does this sentence use оттуда?
In Russian, location words change depending on motion. While там means "there" for a static location, туда means "to there" for direction. When you add the prefix от- which means "from", you get оттуда, meaning "from there".
Why do we use до for "to" here, instead of в or на?
You use в and на when you are talking about going into or onto a destination. However, when you are measuring the distance between two points, you use the prepositions от for "from" and до for "up to" or "as far as".
Does the word метро change its ending after the preposition до?
No. The preposition до usually forces the following noun into the genitive case, meaning the ending would normally change. However, метро is a borrowed foreign word in Russian and is indeclinable, meaning it never changes its form no matter what.
Where are the words for "it is" in this sentence?
Russian drops the verb to be in the present tense. It also regularly skips dummy subjects like "it" when describing a general state, condition, or distance. Therefore, the entire phrase "it is not far" translates to just the single adverb недалеко.
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