Breakdown of В банкомате нет иностранной валюты, там одни рубли.
там
there
в
in / to (direction)
нет
there is no / is not present
рубль
ruble
иностранный
foreign
одни
only / alone (pl.)
валюта
currency
банкомат
ATM
Questions & Answers about В банкомате нет иностранной валюты, там одни рубли.
Why use одни before рубли if один normally means "one"?
In this context, the plural form одни translates to "only" or "nothing but." It is used to show that the ATM contains rubles and absolutely no other type of currency. It takes the plural form to match the plural noun рубли.
Could I use только instead of одни here?
Yes, you could say там только рубли. Using одни instead of только adds a bit more expressive emphasis, painting a picture that the rubles are "all by themselves" in there with no other currencies around.
Why is it иностранной валюты instead of the dictionary form иностранная валюта?
This is because of the word нет (there is not). In Russian, expressing the absence of something requires the genitive case. Therefore, the feminine nominative иностранная валюта changes to the genitive иностранной валюты.
Why use the preposition в for В банкомате?
We use в (in) with the prepositional case here because the money is physically enclosed inside the ATM. If you used на банкомате, it would sound like the money is just resting on top of the machine!
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