Breakdown of Водитель сидит на сиденье за рулём и проезжает мимо нас.
и
and
мы
we
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
сидеть
to sit
водитель
driver
за
behind
мимо
past (moving by)
проезжать
to drive past
руль
the steering wheel
сиденье
the seat
Questions & Answers about Водитель сидит на сиденье за рулём и проезжает мимо нас.
Why is нас used after мимо?
The preposition мимо (past/by) always requires the Genitive case. Нас is the Genitive form of мы (we/us).
Why does the sentence use проезжает instead of just едет?
The verb едет means driving in a general direction, but adding the prefix про- gives it the specific meaning of passing by or through a space. Combining проезжать with мимо is the standard way to express driving past something.
Why is руль (steering wheel) in the Instrumental case here (за рулём)?
The preposition за takes the Instrumental case when describing a static location, meaning behind. Here it literally means behind the wheel, which acts as the Russian equivalent of the English phrase at the wheel.
Is на сиденье in the Prepositional case? Why does it end in -ье instead of -ии?
Yes, it is in the Prepositional case to show location. Neuter nouns ending in -ье like сиденье (seat) end in -е in the Prepositional case. This makes it look identical to its dictionary form, unlike nouns ending in -ие (like здание), which change to -ии.
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