Question 1

How do за and до work together to mean "ten minutes before closing"?

Accepted Answer

This is the standard Russian formula for expressing how much time passed before an event. You use за plus the amount of time in the Accusative case (десять минут), followed by до plus the event in the Genitive case (закрытия). You can think of it literally as "in ten minutes up to closing."

Question 2

Why is успел translated as "managed to" instead of using a word like смог?

Accepted Answer

The verb успеть specifically means "to have enough time to do something" or "to make it in time." While смог just means you were physically able to do it or overcame a general obstacle, успел highlights that you beat the clock, which perfectly fits this sentence about ordering right before the place closed.

Question 3

Why is the word for minutes in the form минут here?

Accepted Answer

After numbers from 5 upwards, like десять (10), nouns must take the Genitive plural form. The dictionary form is the feminine noun минута, and its Genitive plural drops the final vowel to become минут. Notice that even though the preposition за requires the Accusative case for the number (and десять looks the same in Nominative and Accusative), the number itself still forces the noun into the Genitive plural.

Question 4

What case is закрытия and why?

Accepted Answer

It is in the Genitive case because it follows the preposition до (until/before). The dictionary form is the neuter noun закрытие (closing). To form the Genitive for neuter nouns ending in -е, you replace the -е with -я.

Я успел заказать пиццу за десять минут до закрытия.

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