Questions & Answers about Я впервые в этом городе.
What is the difference between впервые and в первый раз?
Why do we use этом instead of этим here?
Because we are talking about a location (answering 'where?'), the phrase в этом городе must be in the prepositional case. Этом is the prepositional form of the masculine word этот (this). Learners often mix it up with этим, which is the instrumental case form.
Could I change the word order and put впервые at the end?
Yes! Russian word order is very flexible. Saying Я в этом городе впервые is perfectly natural. Placing впервые right after Я just puts a slight emphasis on the novelty of your visit.
How would I change this sentence to say 'I was in this city for the first time'?
Because the present tense verb 'am' is omitted in Russian, you just need to insert the past tense form of 'to be' to change the tense. You would say Я впервые был в этом городе (if you are male) or Я впервые была в этом городе (if you are female).
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