Breakdown of Гости на фестивале наелись мяса и напились вина.
и
and
вино
wine
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
мясо
meat
гость
guest
фестиваль
festival
наесться
to eat one's fill
напиться
to drink one's fill
Questions & Answers about Гости на фестивале наелись мяса и напились вина.
How do the verbs наелись and напились create the meaning of having "plenty" or "one's fill"?
They use a specific pattern: the prefix на- combined with the reflexive postfix -ся (or -сь). When added to verbs of action or consumption (like есть for eating and пить for drinking), this structure indicates doing something until you are completely satisfied, full, or simply cannot do it anymore.
Why are the words for meat (мяса) and wine (вина) in the genitive case here, rather than the accusative?
Verbs of satiation formed with на-...-ся take their objects in the genitive case. It functions like the partitive genitive, expressing a quantity of something. Instead of a direct action upon a specific object (which would use the accusative), you are having your fill of the meat and of the wine.
I thought напиться meant "to get drunk." Does it just mean "to drink a lot" here?
By itself, напиться is indeed the standard, everyday word for "to get drunk." However, when you explicitly state the beverage in the genitive case—like напились воды (drank one's fill of water) or напились вина—it emphasizes the satiation of drinking a large quantity of that specific drink. (Though with wine, getting drunk is definitely part of the package!)
Why do these verbs end in -сь instead of the usual reflexive -ся?
The reflexive postfix always adapts to the letter immediately preceding it. After a consonant (as in the infinitive наесться or the masculine past tense наелся), you use -ся. After a vowel (like the plural past tense ending -и in наелись and напились), it shortens to -сь.
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