Breakdown of Мы едем на предприятие.
мы
we
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
ехать
to go (by vehicle)
предприятие
enterprise
Questions & Answers about Мы едем на предприятие.
The current lesson is about words ending in '-ие' changing to '-ии'. Why does 'предприятие' still end in '-е' here?
Because it is not in the prepositional case! The verb едем (we are going) shows motion towards a destination, so the preposition на must take the accusative case. For neuter nouns like предприятие, the accusative form is exactly the same as the dictionary (nominative) form. You would only use the prepositional form на предприятии if you were already located there, for example: Мы работаем на предприятии (We work at the enterprise).
Why do we use 'на' instead of 'в' to mean 'to' in this sentence?
The word предприятие is one of those specific locations in Russian that conventionally takes на instead of в, similar to на завод (to the factory) or на работу (to work). It is treated a bit like an active worksite or an abstract business concept rather than just a physical building you go inside.
Why use 'едем' rather than 'идём' if both mean 'we are going'?
Едем specifically means going by some form of transport (driving, taking a bus, riding the train, etc.). An enterprise or industrial facility is usually a commute away, so Russian naturally assumes you are riding there. If you were literally traveling there on foot, you would use идём.
I have trouble remembering the word 'предприятие'. Does it share roots with any other common B1 vocabulary?