Breakdown of Мы ехали по шоссе сквозь сильный дождь.
дождь
rain
мы
we
ехать
to go (by vehicle)
сильный
strong
по
along, around
шоссе
highway
сквозь
through (passing through something dense)
Questions & Answers about Мы ехали по шоссе сквозь сильный дождь.
Why is it сквозь сильный дождь and what case is being used here?
The preposition сквозь (through) requires the Accusative case. Because дождь (rain) is a masculine inanimate noun, its Accusative form is identical to its Nominative form. The adjective сильный (heavy/strong) also stays the same to match it.
What is the difference between using сквозь and через in this sentence?
Both can translate to "through" and both take the Accusative case. However, сквозь specifically emphasizes passing through a dense medium or a physical obstacle—like heavy rain, thick fog, or a dense forest. It paints a more vivid picture of the weather pushing against the car than через would.
Why use ехали instead of ездили?
Ехали is a unidirectional verb of motion. It is used here because the sentence describes a single, specific trip moving in one direction along the highway. If you were talking about driving back and forth, or making this trip regularly, you would use ездили.
Why doesn't the word шоссе (highway) change its ending after the preposition по?
The preposition по generally takes the Dative case, which would usually change a noun's ending. However, шоссе is a borrowed foreign word. In Russian, many borrowed nouns ending in vowels like -е, -о, or -и (such as метро, такси, and шоссе) are indeclinable. This means their form never changes, no matter what case is required.
Learn Мы ехали по шоссе сквозь сильный дождь and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free