В течение долгого плавания матросы терпели голод.
During the long voyage, the sailors endured hunger.
Breakdown of В течение долгого плавания матросы терпели голод.
долгий
long (of time)
терпеть
to endure
в течение
during (a period of time)
плавание
voyage
Questions & Answers about В течение долгого плавания матросы терпели голод.
Why does в течение end in -е here instead of -и?
Because в течение (during) is a compound preposition, which has a fixed spelling ending in -е. If it ended in -и (в течении), it would be the actual noun течение (current or flow) in the prepositional case, which would literally mean 'in the current' of a river.
What case is долгого плавания in, and why?
It is in the Genitive case. Derivative compound prepositions of duration like в течение and в продолжение always require the Genitive case for the noun or noun phrase that follows them.
Could I use во время instead of в течение in this sentence?
Yes, во время долгого плавания would also correctly translate to 'during the long voyage.' However, в течение puts a bit more emphasis on the entire span of time from the beginning to the end of the voyage, highlighting the continuous nature of the sailors' suffering.
Why is the imperfective verb терпели used here instead of a perfective equivalent?
The preposition в течение explicitly sets up a continuous block of time. Because the sailors endured hunger continuously throughout that entire duration rather than doing it as a single completed point-in-time action, the imperfective aspect is naturally required to show this ongoing state.