Breakdown of Это обычный бар, в котором не бывает очередей.
это
this / it is
не
not
в
in / to (direction)
который
which / who / that (relative pronoun)
очередь
queue
обычный
usual
бывать
to occur / to visit
бар
bar
Questions & Answers about Это обычный бар, в котором не бывает очередей.
Why use не бывает here instead of just нет?
Using бывать (to tend to be, to happen) adds a habitual meaning. If you said нет, it would just mean there are no queues right now. Не бывает means there are never queues, or there tend not to be queues on a regular basis.
Why is the word for queues (очередей) in the genitive case here?
In Russian, when you express the absence or non-existence of something, the thing that is absent takes the genitive case. This rule applies not just to нет, but also to verbs of existence like быть and бывать when they are negated with не.
Очередей is a bit of a tricky plural form. How is it formed?
The dictionary form is очередь (queue or line). Because it is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign, its genitive plural form takes the ending -ей, making it очередей.
Could I use где (where) instead of в котором (in which)?
Yes, you can absolutely say где here, and it would sound very natural. Using в котором (in which) is just a slightly more formal or precise way to link the two halves of the sentence, but they mean exactly the same thing in this context.
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