Breakdown of Я проснулся за час до встречи.
я
I
встреча
meeting
час
hour
до
before, until
проснуться
to wake up (perfective)
за ... до
before (as in "an hour before the flight")
Questions & Answers about Я проснулся за час до встречи.
Why do we use both за and до to say 'before'?
This is a specific structure used to express how much time elapsed before an event. You use за + [amount of time in the Accusative case] + до + [the event in the Genitive case]. Together, за час до translates to 'an hour before'.
Doesn't за час usually mean 'in an hour' (duration)?
Yes! On its own, за час often means 'in an hour' or 'it took an hour to do'. However, when it is immediately followed by до (before) plus an event, the meaning shifts entirely to indicate the time remaining until that event.
Why is it встречи instead of встреча?
The preposition до always requires the Genitive case. Since встреча (meeting) is a feminine noun ending in -а, it changes to -и in the Genitive case, becoming встречи.
Why does the verb проснулся have a -ся ending?
The infinitive is проснуться (to wake up). It is a reflexive verb, indicated by the -ся ending, used when you wake up on your own. If you were waking someone else up, you would use a different, non-reflexive verb like разбудить.
Learn Я проснулся за час до встречи 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