Breakdown of Парижане часто ужинают в этом ресторане.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
ресторан
restaurant
часто
often
в
in / to (direction)
ужинать
to have dinner
парижанин
Parisian
Questions & Answers about Парижане часто ужинают в этом ресторане.
Why does the plural of "Parisian" end in -е (парижане) instead of the usual -ы?
This is a special rule for nouns denoting nationalities or city residents that end in -анин or -янин in the singular. To form the plural, they drop the -ин suffix entirely and add -е. Since a single male Parisian is парижанин, the plural becomes парижане.
Does the plural word парижане refer only to men?
No, it refers to Parisians in general. While a specific female Parisian is a парижанка, Russian uses the masculine plural form парижане to talk about a mixed group or the entire population of the city.
Could we use the perfective verb поужинают instead of ужинают here?
No, because of the adverb часто (often). Adverbs that indicate a repeated or habitual action always trigger the use of imperfective verbs in Russian. Therefore, you must use the imperfective ужинают.
Why is "in this restaurant" translated as в этом ресторане rather than в этот ресторан?
Because the Parisians are already at the restaurant eating, which indicates location. The preposition в takes the Prepositional case (в этом ресторане) for static locations answering "Where?". If they were traveling or going to the restaurant (motion), you would use the Accusative case (в этот ресторан).
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