Breakdown of Мы прождали этого таможенника целый час.
мы
we
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
час
hour
целый
whole, entire
Questions & Answers about Мы прождали этого таможенника целый час.
Why use the perfective verb прождали when waiting for an hour is a continuous, ongoing action?
The prefix про- here creates a special type of perfective verb that means to spend a specific amount of time doing something. Even though the waiting was continuous, adding про- packages that entire duration (целый час) into one completed event.
Does the verb прождать always need a time phrase after it?
Yes, when the prefix про- is used to show a span of time, it requires an accusative time phrase like целый час (a whole hour) or весь день (all day). If you do not state the exact duration, you would normally just use the imperfective ждали.
Why doesn't the time phrase целый час need a preposition?
To express the exact duration of an action (how long it lasted), Russian uses the accusative case without any preposition. If you used a preposition like за (e.g., за целый час), it would change the meaning to 'within a whole hour', which refers to the time it takes to achieve a result, not the duration of the activity itself.
What case is этого таможенника, and why?
It is in the accusative case. The verb ждать (and прождать) takes the accusative for specific, definite people (like 'this' customs officer). Because таможенник is a masculine animate noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as the genitive.