Breakdown of Мы говорили о химии в этой лаборатории.
мы
we
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
говорить
to speak, to talk
в
in / to (direction)
о
about (о, об, обо)
лаборатория
laboratory
химия
chemistry
Questions & Answers about Мы говорили о химии в этой лаборатории.
Why do both химии and лаборатории end in -ии instead of the usual prepositional ending -е?
These words come from the base dictionary forms химия and лаборатория. In Russian, nouns that end in -ия, -ие, or -ий are special: they take -ии in the prepositional case instead of the standard -е.
Why is the word for 'this' spelled этой here?
It has to match the noun it describes, лаборатории, which is feminine and in the prepositional case. The feminine prepositional form of эта is этой.
Why does this sentence use the imperfective verb говорили?
The imperfective aspect is used here to focus on the ongoing process of the conversation. It translates well to 'we were talking' or implies a general discussion. If the sentence meant 'we said' or 'we had a brief chat', a perfective verb like сказали or поговорили would be used.
Why is the preposition о used instead of об?
The preposition о is used before words that start with a consonant sound, like the first letter in химии. You switch to об when the following word starts with a vowel, such as if you were saying 'about this laboratory' (об этой лаборатории).
Learn Мы говорили о химии в этой лаборатории 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