Breakdown of Раньше мы встречались по будням, но потом у нас не было времени.
не
not
мы
we
у
at, by
время
time
быть
to be
раньше
earlier
потом
then
но
but
встречаться
to meet (each other)
по
on (recurring days/times)
будни
weekdays
Questions & Answers about Раньше мы встречались по будням, но потом у нас не было времени.
Why do we use по and the Dative case in по будням?
In Russian, the preposition по paired with a noun in the Dative plural is used to express a repeated, regular routine. Here, будням is the Dative plural of будни (weekdays), so по будням translates to "on weekdays" or "every weekday."
Why is the verb встречались in the imperfective aspect?
Because it describes a recurring habit in the past (we used to meet, or we would meet). The imperfective aspect is required for repeated actions, which matches perfectly with the routine expressed by по будням.
Why is the verb не было in the neuter form? Doesn't it just match the neuter noun время?
It looks like a match, but it is actually an impersonal construction. In past tense sentences expressing the lack or absence of something, the verb is always the fixed neuter form не было. The thing that is missing is then put into the Genitive case, which is why we see времени.
How does the word for time (время) turn into времени?
время is one of the special neuter nouns ending in -мя. When these nouns change into the Genitive, Dative, or Prepositional cases, they add the suffix -ен- to the stem before the ending, making it времени.
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