Breakdown of Туристы должны доехать до водопада.
турист
tourist
должен
must, have to (должен, должна, должны)
до
as far as, up to
водопад
waterfall
доехать
to reach (by vehicle, pf)
Questions & Answers about Туристы должны доехать до водопада.
Why do we use доехать here instead of дойти?
доехать specifically implies reaching a destination by transport (like a bus or car). If the tourists were hiking or walking, you would use дойти.
Why is the prefix до- repeated as a separate preposition in до водопада?
This is a core pattern in Russian. When a verb of motion has the prefix до- (focusing on reaching a boundary or destination), it is almost always paired with the preposition до + the Genitive case to state exactly what that destination is.
Why is the word for waterfall spelled водопада here?
It is in the Genitive case, which is always required after the preposition до. The dictionary form is водопад, which is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, so we add -а to make it Genitive.
Why is 'must' translated as должны instead of a regular verb?
Russian doesn't have a direct verb for 'must' or 'have to'. Instead, it uses the short adjective должен. Because the subject Туристы is plural, the adjective takes the plural form должны.
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