Word
Он уснул во время операции.
Meaning
He fell asleep during the operation.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Он уснул во время операции.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
уснуть
to fall asleep
во время
during
операция
operation
Questions & Answers about Он уснул во время операции.
Why is the noun операция in the Genitive case here?
It follows the phrase во время (during). Because it acts as a preposition meaning 'in the time of', it always requires the following noun to be in the Genitive case. That turns операция into операции.
Why does операция end in -ии in the Genitive case instead of just -и?
Feminine nouns ending in -ия (like операция, лекция, история) have a special declension pattern. In the Genitive, Dative, and Prepositional singular, their ending changes to -ии.
What is the difference between уснул and спал?
спал is the imperfective past tense of спать and means 'was sleeping' (a continuous state). уснул is the perfective past tense of уснуть and means 'fell asleep' (a completed change of state). The sentence focuses on the exact moment he dropped off to sleep.
Is во время related to the word вовремя?
They look and sound similar but are completely different grammar structures. во время (written as two words) means 'during' and is followed by the Genitive case. вовремя (written as one word) is an adverb meaning 'on time' or 'in time', as in arriving on time for an appointment.