Question 1

The English translation says "either... or...". Shouldn't that be или ..., или ...?

Accepted Answer

Usually, yes! Или ..., или ... translates to "either... or..." when there is a choice or when two things are mutually exclusive. However, то ..., то ... is used for alternating actions (meaning "now this, now that" or "first this, then that"). Here, they aren't presenting a choice; they are describing a repeating cycle of feeling cold, then hot, then cold again. The English translation uses "either... or..." colloquially to capture this back-and-forth experience.

Question 2

Why are both мёрзли and потели in the imperfective aspect?

Accepted Answer

Because то ..., то ... describes a repeating cycle of alternating actions over a period of time, it naturally triggers the imperfective aspect. The speakers were repeatedly freezing and then sweating, rather than completing the action just once.

Question 3

The dictionary form of "to freeze" is мёрзнуть. Why is the past tense here мёрзли and not мёрзнули?

Accepted Answer

Many verbs ending in -нуть that describe a gradual process or change of state (like getting cold, drying, or getting wet) drop the -ну- syllable in the past tense. Because of this rule, instead of мёрзнули, the past tense forms are мёрз (masculine), мёрзла (feminine), мёрзло (neuter), and мёрзли (plural).

Question 4

Is the comma before the second то required?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In Russian punctuation, whenever you use a paired, repeating conjunction (like то ..., то ..., и ..., и ..., or или ..., или ...), you must always place a comma right before the second word of the pair.

В горах мы то мёрзли, то потели.

Breakdown of В горах мы то мёрзли, то потели.

Questions & Answers about В горах мы то мёрзли, то потели.

Learn В горах мы то мёрзли, то потели and more in Russian