Breakdown of Вечером она плакала от усталости.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
вечером
in the evening
от
from
плакать
to cry
усталость
fatigue
Questions & Answers about Вечером она плакала от усталости.
Why do we use от here instead of из to mean 'from'?
In Russian, от is used to show an involuntary physical or emotional cause, like fatigue, pain, or joy. из is used for conscious motives (like doing something 'out of curiosity'). Since crying is an involuntary reaction to being tired, rather than a calculated motive, от is the correct preposition.
What case is усталости and why does it end in -и?
It is in the genitive case, which is always required after the preposition от. The dictionary form is усталость (fatigue). Because it is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign (-ь), its genitive ending becomes -и.
Why is the word for 'evening' (вечер) written as вечером?
Russian uses the instrumental case for parts of the day to answer the question 'when?'. By putting вечер into the instrumental case (вечером), it translates to 'in the evening'.
Why use the imperfective verb плакала instead of a perfective form?
The imperfective form плакала (was crying) is used because it describes an ongoing process or state during the evening. It focuses on the fact that the action was happening, rather than a single, completed result.
Learn Вечером она плакала от усталости 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