Questions & Answers about Невеста была в белом платье.
Why do we use the preposition в here instead of a verb for wearing?
In Russian, a very common and natural way to describe what someone has on at a specific moment is to use в (in) followed by the Prepositional case. It translates literally as 'was in a white dress.' While you can use verbs like носить (to wear), using в is the standard way to describe an outfit at a specific event.
What case is белом платье and why?
It is in the Prepositional case because it follows the preposition в to describe a state or location (literally being 'inside' the clothing). Платье (dress) is a neuter noun, and its Prepositional form ends in -е. The adjective белое (white) takes the neuter Prepositional ending -ом, becoming белом.
Could we use the verb носить (to wear) instead?
You could say Невеста носила белое платье, but the verb носить generally implies a habitual or repeated action (wearing something regularly). To describe what she was wearing at that exact moment or single event, using была в (was in) is much more natural.
Since платье ends in -е, is it plural?
No, платье is a singular neuter noun. While many plurals in Russian end in -ы or -и, -е is a standard ending for singular neuter nouns in the Nominative case (like море for sea). The plural of this word is actually платья.