Утром я то суетился, то смотрел на часы.
In the morning I was either fussing or looking at the clock.
Breakdown of Утром я то суетился, то смотрел на часы.
я
I
утром
in the morning
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
смотреть
to watch / to look at / make sure (in a warning)
часы
watch / clock
суетиться
to fuss
то ..., то ...
now ... now ... (alternating actions)
Questions & Answers about Утром я то суетился, то смотрел на часы.
The translation says "either fussing or looking." Doesn't или ..., или ... mean "either ... or ..."?
Yes, it does. While the English translation here uses "either... or...", the Russian structure то ..., то ... specifically means rapidly alternating actions: "first doing one thing, then the other" or "now doing this, now doing that." If you used или ..., или ..., it would mean you only did one of those two things.
Why are both verbs (суетился and смотрел) in the imperfective aspect?
The то ..., то ... construction inherently describes a repeated cycle of alternating actions over a period of time. Because the actions are repeated and ongoing, they require the imperfective aspect.
Since we are learning about the particle было, could I add it here to say I started looking at the clock but got interrupted?
Grammatically, you could form смотрел было на часы, but it clashes with the meaning of the rest of the sentence. The particle было indicates an action that was started but thwarted or cancelled. The то ..., то ... structure emphasizes that both actions did successfully happen in a repeating cycle, so adding было here would create a confusing contradiction.
I'm looking at one clock. Why is на часы plural?
The Russian word for a clock or a watch, часы, is a plural-only noun (just like "scissors" or "pants" in English). Therefore, на часы is the accusative plural form, even if you are only checking a single watch.
Learn Утром я то суетился, то смотрел на часы and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free