Breakdown of На обратном пути мы зашли в магазин.
мы
we
в
in / to (direction)
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
магазин
store, shop
путь
track / path (route, journey)
зайти
to drop in / stop by (pf, on foot)
обратный
return, backward
Questions & Answers about На обратном пути мы зашли в магазин.
Why does пути end in -и if it is a masculine noun?
Путь is an anomalous masculine noun. While it is masculine, it borrows most of its case endings from feminine nouns that end in a soft sign (like тетрадь). Because of this, it takes the ending -и in the prepositional case instead of the standard masculine -е.
If пути borrows feminine endings, why is the adjective обратном masculine?
Because путь is still fundamentally a masculine noun. Its quirky behavior only applies to the noun itself. Any adjectives describing it must agree with its true masculine gender, which is why we use the standard masculine prepositional ending -ом.
Why use зашли here instead of another verb of motion like пошли?
The prefix за- on a verb of motion means to drop in, make a short stop, or detour while on the way somewhere else. Since the speakers visited the store during their return trip, зашли is the exact right word to describe this quick stop.
Why is it в магазин (accusative) instead of в магазине (prepositional)?
Even though зашли translates to dropping in, it is a verb of motion that indicates going into a destination. When the preposition в indicates direction toward a place, it always takes the accusative case. If you were describing an action happening entirely inside the store, you would use the prepositional case.
Learn На обратном пути мы зашли в магазин and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free