Breakdown of Я приехал в университет на один семестр.
я
I
в
in / to (direction)
университет
university
один
one
приехать
to arrive (by transport, pf)
на
for (a period of time)
семестр
the semester
Questions & Answers about Я приехал в университет на один семестр.
Why do we use на один семестр here instead of just stating the time period?
In Russian, when you want to say how long you intend to stay somewhere after an action, you use на followed by the Accusative case. It expresses the intended duration of the result. If you just said один семестр without на, it would mean the travel process itself took a whole semester!
Is один семестр in the Accusative case here? It looks like the dictionary form.
Yes, it is in the Accusative case. For inanimate masculine nouns like семестр, the Accusative form is identical to the Nominative (dictionary) form. The number один modifies the noun and also copies this inanimate Accusative form.
Why does the sentence use приехал rather than поехал?
The prefix при- on a verb of motion specifically indicates arrival at a destination. So приехал means 'arrived' or 'came'. If you used поехал, it would mean 'set off' or 'departed' for the university.
Why is it в университет instead of в университете?
Because this sentence involves motion toward a destination. When answering the question 'where to?', you use в or на with the Accusative case. You would only use the Prepositional case (в университете) to answer 'where at?' if you were describing an action happening stationary inside the university.
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