Breakdown of Вы когда-нибудь ездили в круиз? — Нет, я никогда не ездил в круиз.
не
not
я
I
вы
you (plural or formal)
нет
no
в
in / to (direction)
никогда
never
ездить
to ride, go by vehicle (multidirectional)
когда-нибудь
ever / sometime
круиз
cruise
Questions & Answers about Вы когда-нибудь ездили в круиз? — Нет, я никогда не ездил в круиз.
Why is the imperfective verb ездили used here instead of a perfective verb to ask about a completed trip?
This is a classic example of the general factual use of the imperfective aspect. When asking if someone has ever done something, you are focusing on the experience or fact of the action itself existing in their life, not a specific result or a one-time completed action. Therefore, Russian uses the imperfective.
Could I use the unidirectional verb ехали instead of ездили in this sentence?
No. Ездили is a multidirectional verb, which in the past tense implies a round trip (going and returning). When combined with the general factual meaning of an experience, you need this multidirectional verb. If you asked Вы ехали в круиз?, it would mean "Were you on your way to a cruise?"
Why is it в круиз and not на круиз? Isn't a cruise an event or activity?
It can be tricky! While many events or activities take на (like на концерт), круиз traditionally takes в. You can think of it as taking the same preposition as traveling into a journey or voyage (в путешествие, в рейс). Because it expresses motion towards a destination, it is in the accusative case.
Why do we use когда-нибудь for "ever"? Could I use когда-то?
You need когда-нибудь here because it is an open question about an indefinite time ("at any time at all" or "ever"). Когда-то means "at some specific point in the past that I have forgotten" or "formerly". If you used когда-то, it would sound like "You went on a cruise once upon a time, right?".
Does Нет, я никогда не ездил literally translate to "No, I never not went"?
Yes! Russian requires negative agreement (often called a double negative). When you use a negative word like никогда (never), the verb must also be negated with не. Unlike in English, these negatives do not cancel each other out; they work together to make the sentence negative.
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