Breakdown of К тебе сегодня кто-нибудь заходил?
ты
you (singular)
сегодня
today
кто-нибудь
anyone / someone (unspecified)
к
towards, to
заходить
to drop in / stop by (impf, on foot)
Questions & Answers about К тебе сегодня кто-нибудь заходил?
Why do we use к тебе here instead of в or на?
The preposition к (followed by the Dative case, тебе) is used when you drop in to see a person. If you were dropping by a place, you would use в or на + the Accusative case (for example, в магазин - to the store).
How does the prefix за- change the verb here?
The base verb ходил means "went" (on foot, round trip). Adding the prefix за- gives the idea of making a short detour from your main route. Together, заходить means "to drop in" or "to stop by".
Why is the imperfective verb заходил used instead of the perfective зашёл?
Using the imperfective past tense for verbs of motion implies a completed round trip. It means someone dropped by and has already left. If you used the perfective зашёл, it would mean someone dropped by and is still currently at your place!
Why do we use кто-нибудь instead of кто-то?
Both words translate to "someone" or "anyone", but they are used differently. We use кто-нибудь in questions when we genuinely don't know if this person exists at all ("did anyone drop in?"). You would use кто-то in a statement when a specific person actually existed, but you just don't know their identity ("someone dropped in").
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