Learn Russian: Между беседой и игрой была долгая пауза. - What was between the conversation and the game?

The preposition между (between) requires the nouns that follow it to be in the Instrumental case. This rule changes the basic nominative nouns беседа (conversation) and игра (game) to беседой and игрой.

Can между be used for both time and physical space?

Yes! In this sentence, между is used to describe a period of time between two events. You can use it exactly the same way to describe a physical location between two objects. In both situations, it triggers the Instrumental case.

Why doesn't the sentence use a word for 'there' to say 'there was a long pause'?

Russian doesn't use a placeholder word like 'there' for 'there is' or 'there was' constructions. Putting the time or location phrase (Между беседой и игрой) at the start of the sentence, followed by the verb была (was), is the natural way to express 'There was a long pause...' in Russian.

Why is the verb была in the feminine form?

In the past tense, Russian verbs must agree with the gender of the subject. The main subject of this sentence is пауза (pause), which is a feminine noun, so the verb takes the feminine past-tense form была.