Breakdown of Если мы собьёмся с пути, это будет тупик.
это
this / it is
мы
we
быть
to be
если
if
путь
track / path (route, journey)
с
off / down from (a surface)
сбиться
to lose one's way, to go astray
тупик
dead end
Questions & Answers about Если мы собьёмся с пути, это будет тупик.
Why is the masculine noun путь spelled as пути here?
It is in the genitive case because it follows the preposition с (meaning "off of" or "from"). путь is an anomalous masculine noun. Instead of taking normal masculine endings, it declines almost exactly like a feminine noun ending in a soft sign (such as тетрадь), which is why its genitive form is пути rather than taking a standard masculine ending.
How does the verb собьёмся break down?
It comes from the perfective verb сбиться, which literally means "to stray" or "to get knocked off course". When you conjugate it for "we" in the future tense, the prefix с- gets an о added to make it easier to pronounce, resulting in мы собьёмся. The phrase сбиться с пути is the standard Russian idiom for "to lose one's way".
Why does the English translation say "If we lose..." but Russian uses the future tense собьёмся?
In Russian, conditional "if" clauses (если) referring to a future event must actually use the future tense. English uses the present tense ("If we lose") to talk about a future condition, but Russian is more literal: since getting lost hasn't happened yet, it must be если мы собьёмся (literally "If we will lose").
Is тупик in the nominative case here, even though it follows будет?
Yes! While the verb быть (to be) often takes the instrumental case for future states or professions, simple definitions or equations using это будет (this/it will be) typically keep the following noun in the nominative case. So тупик (dead end) stays exactly as it is in the dictionary.
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