Breakdown of Мы пробыли в этом терминале весь день.
день
day
мы
we
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
в
in / to (direction)
Questions & Answers about Мы пробыли в этом терминале весь день.
Why is пробыли perfective when staying all day sounds like a continuous, ongoing action?
This is exactly how the prefix про- works for exact duration. It takes a continuous state like быть and packages it into a single, completed block of time. Even though the staying lasted a long time, the perfective verb пробыть shows that this specific duration is now entirely finished.
What case is весь день in, and why is there no preposition?
It is in the accusative case, which is the standard way to express the exact duration of an action in Russian. No preposition is needed. Because день is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form looks identical to its nominative form.
Could I use the perfective verb остались instead of пробыли to mean that we stayed?
You could, but the focus would change. The verb остаться emphasizes the result of not leaving or staying behind. The verb пробыть is specifically used to emphasize the exact amount of time spent in a state or place. Since this sentence highlights the time span of весь день, пробыли is the most natural choice.
How do I stress the past tense forms of пробыть?