Breakdown of Мы натанцевались вокруг сцены и наконец наговорились.
и
and
мы
we
наконец
finally
вокруг
around
сцена
stage
натанцеваться
to dance to one's heart's content
наговориться
to talk to one's heart's content
Questions & Answers about Мы натанцевались вокруг сцены и наконец наговорились.
What exactly does the на- prefix and -ся ending do to the verbs танцевать and говорить in this sentence?
This specific combination changes a verb to mean doing something to the point of full satisfaction or exhaustion. So натанцевались means "we danced to our hearts' content" and наговорились means "we got our fill of talking."
Are the verbs натанцевались and наговорились perfective or imperfective?
They are perfective. Even though the base verbs танцевать (to dance) and говорить (to talk) are imperfective and describe continuous actions, wrapping them in на- and -ся focuses on the completed result: the final state of having had enough.
I thought -ся makes a verb reflexive. How does that work with dancing and talking here?
While -ся often shows an action done to oneself, here it works specifically with the на- prefix to mean "satisfying oneself" through the action. You can think of it as "we danced ourselves out" or "we talked ourselves full." Note that adding this pattern makes the verbs intransitive, meaning they can no longer take a direct object.
Why is the word for stage (сцена) written as сцены here?
The preposition вокруг (around) always requires the noun following it to be in the genitive case. Since сцена is a feminine noun ending in -а, its genitive form is сцены.
Learn Мы натанцевались вокруг сцены и наконец наговорились and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free