Breakdown of В продолжение месяца судно плыло к горизонту.
месяц
month
к
towards, to
плыть
to swim, to sail (one direction)
в продолжение
throughout
Questions & Answers about В продолжение месяца судно плыло к горизонту.
Why does в продолжение end in -е? Wouldn't "in the continuation" be in the Prepositional case ending in -и?
When в продолжение is used as a compound preposition of time meaning "throughout" or "during", it is a fixed form that always ends in -е. If you were talking about a literal continuation or sequel, like "in the sequel of the movie", it would be a regular noun in the Prepositional case: в продолжении фильма.
Can I swap в продолжение with в течение in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely. Both mean "during" or "in the course of," both require the Genitive case (which is why we see месяца), and both always end in -е. В течение is slightly more common in everyday speech, while в продолжение can sound a bit more literary.
Since the sailing lasted for a whole month, why use the unidirectional verb of motion плыло instead of the multidirectional плавало?
Even though the action took a long time, the vessel was moving in a single, continuous direction toward a specific destination (к горизонту). Multidirectional verbs like плавать are used for aimless movement, round trips, or general ability, none of which apply to this steady, one-way journey.
Could we use a perfective verb here to show the action is completed in the past?
No, you need the imperfective aspect (плыло) here. The preposition в продолжение specifically highlights the ongoing duration or process of an action. Perfective verbs focus on results or completion, so they clash with phrases emphasizing how long an ongoing process took.