Breakdown of Здорово, что вы приехали!
вы
you (plural or formal)
приезжать
to arrive (by vehicle)
здорово
great, cool
Questions & Answers about Здорово, что вы приехали!
I know that здоровье means health. Is здорово related to being healthy here?
Historically yes, but here it means 'great' or 'cool'. The pronunciation is the key: when stressed on the first syllable (здóрово), it means 'great'. If stressed on the second syllable (здорóво), it is an informal slang word for 'hello'.
Since this lesson is about particles, could we add же to this sentence?
Absolutely! You could say Здорово же, что вы приехали! to add emotional emphasis. It translates to something like 'It really is so great that you came!' with же highlighting your genuine excitement.
Why is the perfective verb приехали used here instead of the imperfective приезжали?
The perfective приехали focuses on the result of the action: the guests have successfully arrived and are currently here. If you used the imperfective приезжали, it would imply a completed round trip, meaning 'It is great that you visited (but you have already left)'.
Why use приехали instead of пришли for 'have come'?
Russian verbs of motion specify the method of travel. Приехали means they arrived by some form of transport (like a car, train, or plane). If they had simply walked to your location, you would use пришли.
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