Breakdown of Как только люди увидели медведя, они убежали.
они
they
люди
people
медведь
bear
увидеть
to see, to catch sight of (perfective)
как только
as soon as
убежать
to run away
Questions & Answers about Как только люди увидели медведя, они убежали.
Why are both увидели and убежали in the perfective aspect?
The phrase как только (as soon as) connects two consecutive actions. Because one action (running away) happens immediately after the other (seeing the bear) is completely finished, both verbs need to be perfective to show they are completed, sequential events.
Why is the bear медведя instead of just медведь?
The word медведь is the direct object of the verb увидели, so it takes the accusative case. Because a bear is a living thing (an animate masculine noun), its accusative form changes to look exactly like the genitive case: медведя.
What does the у- prefix do in the word убежали?
The prefix у- indicates motion away from a place. Adding it to the base verb бежать (to run) changes the meaning to "run away" or "flee". It also makes the verb perfective, which fits the sudden, completed action required in this sentence.
Is the comma after медведя strictly necessary?
Yes! In Russian, you must always use a comma to separate the subordinate clause (the part starting with как только) from the main clause (они убежали).
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