Breakdown of Птица в клетке никогда не строит гнездо.
не
not
птица
bird
строить
to build
в
in / to (direction)
никогда
never
гнездо
nest
клетка
cage
Questions & Answers about Птица в клетке никогда не строит гнездо.
The current lesson is about the irregular prepositional ending in stressed -у or -ю. Why does в клетке end in -е here?
The special stressed -у or -ю prepositional ending (like in в лесу) only applies to a specific group of short masculine nouns. Because клетка (cage) is a feminine noun ending in -а, it just takes the standard prepositional ending -е.
Why do we need both никогда and не in this sentence?
Russian requires double negation. When you use a negative word like никогда (never), you must also put не (not) right before the verb. You are literally saying that the bird never does not build a nest.
Why doesn't the word гнездо change its ending since it is the direct object being built?
Гнездо (nest) is in the accusative case here because it is the direct object. However, because it is a neuter noun (ending in -о), its accusative form looks exactly the same as its nominative dictionary form.
What is the dictionary form of строит and why does it use an -и- in its ending?
The infinitive is строить (to build). It belongs to the second conjugation group, which means it uses -и- instead of -е- for its endings. Since птица is a third-person singular subject (it/she), the verb takes the -ит ending.
Learn Птица в клетке никогда не строит гнездо 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