Breakdown of Что бы ни происходило, мы не отворачиваемся друг от друга.
не
not
мы
we
что
what
от
from
происходить
to happen (imperfective)
бы
would (conditional particle) / concessive particle
друг друга
each other
ни
not (negative particle in ни с кем, ни о чём)
отворачиваться
to turn away
Questions & Answers about Что бы ни происходило, мы не отворачиваемся друг от друга.
Why is происходило in the past tense when the second half of the sentence (не отворачиваемся) is in the present tense?
In Russian, universal concessive clauses (expressions meaning 'no matter what', 'whoever', 'wherever') use the particle бы + ни + the past tense of the verb, regardless of when the action actually happens. Even though it expresses a general truth or ongoing situation ('Whatever is going on'), the grammar requires the past tense происходило because it works together with the conditional particle бы.
Could I use не instead of ни here, like Что бы не происходило?
No, you must use ни. While it sounds identical to не when spoken rapidly, the structure [question word] + бы ни + [past tense verb] is a fixed grammatical pattern for 'no matter [what/who/where]'. Using не would change it to a regular negative conditional ('Whatever didn't happen'), which breaks the intended meaning here.
Why use the imperfective verb происходило instead of the perfective произошло?
The imperfective происходило emphasizes the ongoing or recurring nature of the events ('whatever might be going on'). If you used the perfective произошло, it would focus on a single, completed result ('whatever has happened'). Both are grammatically fine, but the imperfective pairs naturally with the continuous, present-tense habit of не отворачиваемся.
Why does the preposition от go in the middle of друг от друга instead of before it?
The phrase друг друга (each other) is always split by a preposition if the verb requires one. The first друг never changes form, while the preposition sits right before the second word, which takes the matching case (genitive for от). You will never see a preposition placed before the entire phrase.
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