Breakdown of Вокруг здания стоял забор, который мы не могли обойти.
не
not
мы
we
здание
building
мочь
to be able to
забор
fence
стоять
to stand
который
which / who / that (relative pronoun)
вокруг
around
обойти
to go around (pf)
Questions & Answers about Вокруг здания стоял забор, который мы не могли обойти.
Why is обойти used here instead of the imperfective обходить?
Обойти is the perfective form, focusing on the successful completion of an action. After не могли (could not), we use the perfective here because it refers to the inability to achieve the specific result of bypassing that particular fence on that specific occasion.
What case does the verb обойти take?
Verbs of motion with the prefix об- or обо- (meaning to go around, bypass, or avoid) take a direct object in the Accusative case. In this sentence, the direct object is который (which), representing the fence.
Why does the verb стоял come before the subject забор?
Russian word order is flexible and often places new or key information at the end of a sentence. When setting a scene or describing what is located somewhere, it is very common to start with the location (Вокруг здания), follow with the verb (стоял), and end with the subject (забор).
Why is the word for building in the form здания?
The preposition вокруг (around) always requires the Genitive case. The dictionary form of the word is здание (a neuter noun ending in -е), and its Genitive singular form is здания.
How is the form of the relative pronoun который determined here?
Который (which/that) matches the noun it replaces in gender and number, so it is masculine and singular to match забор. Its case depends on its role in the second part of the sentence. Since it is the direct object of обойти and refers to an inanimate object, it takes the Accusative form, which looks identical to the Nominative: который.
Learn Вокруг здания стоял забор, который мы не могли обойти and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free