Breakdown of После обеда мы пошли на прогулку.
мы
we
пойти
to go (perfective, on foot) / to start (of rain, snow)
после
after
обед
lunch
прогулка
walk, stroll
Questions & Answers about После обеда мы пошли на прогулку.
Why do we use the perfective verb пошли instead of шли or ходили?
Пошли (from the verb пойти) emphasizes setting off or making a single, completed trip. If you used шли, it would mean you 'were walking' (focusing on the process). If you used ходили, it would usually imply a habitual action ('we used to go'). Here, you are narrating a specific sequence of events: first lunch, then you set off for a walk.
Could I use the verb гулять instead of the phrase на прогулку?
Yes, you could say После обеда мы пошли гулять. Using the noun phrase на прогулку can sound slightly more like a planned activity, but in everyday speech, both are very common and mean the exact same thing.
Why is it на прогулку rather than в прогулку?
We use на + accusative case for the destination or purpose of an action when the destination is an event or activity rather than a physical enclosed space. Since a walk (прогулка) is an activity, it takes на.
What case is обеда, and what triggers it?
It is in the genitive case. The preposition после (after) always requires the noun following it to be in the genitive. Because обед is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, it takes the -а ending to become обеда.
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