Breakdown of Мы доедем до долины только вечером.
мы
we
только
only
вечером
in the evening
до
as far as, up to
доехать
to reach (by vehicle, pf)
долина
valley
Questions & Answers about Мы доедем до долины только вечером.
Why do we use доедем here instead of дойдём?
The lesson focuses on the prefix до- (reaching a destination). While дойдём (from дойти) means reaching a place on foot, доедем (from доехать) means reaching it by vehicle. Since a valley is usually a long trip, traveling by transport is implied.
Why do we use the preposition до + Genitive (до долины) instead of в + Accusative (в долину)?
Verbs of motion with the prefix до- almost always pair with the preposition до, which requires the Genitive case. It emphasizes traveling right up to the boundary of a place. So долина (nominative) changes its ending to -ы to become Genitive.
The translation says 'will reach', but доедем is conjugated like a present-tense verb. Why is there no future tense helper word?
The verb доехать is perfective, meaning it focuses on the completion of an action. Perfective verbs do not use the future helper word быть. When you conjugate a perfective verb with normal present-tense endings (like the -ем ending for 'we'), it automatically creates the future tense.
Why is the word for 'evening' (вечер) changed to вечером?
It is in the Instrumental case. In Russian, to say that something happens during a certain part of the day or season, you simply put that noun into the Instrumental case without a preposition. So, вечер (evening) becomes вечером (in the evening).
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