Breakdown of По истечении срока визы турист должен вернуться домой.
домой
home
турист
tourist
должен
must, have to
виза
visa
срок
deadline, term
вернуться
to return (pf)
по
upon / after (formal, e.g., upon arrival)
истечение
the expiration
Questions & Answers about По истечении срока визы турист должен вернуться домой.
Why does истечении end in -ии after по instead of the usual Prepositional ending -е?
The preposition по meaning 'upon' or 'immediately after' requires the Prepositional case. For neuter nouns ending in -ие (like the dictionary form истечение), the Prepositional ending is always -ии. This is a standard rule for these types of nouns, which is why you see по истечении just like по окончании.
Could I just say после истечения instead of по истечении?
Yes, после with the Genitive case (после истечения) means the same thing and is perfectly correct. However, по + Prepositional is heavily used in official, legal, and formal language (like visa regulations). It also carries a slightly stronger sense of 'immediately upon' rather than just 'sometime after'.
Why do we have two Genitive nouns in a row with срока визы?
This is a Genitive chain, which Russian uses where English might just stack nouns (like 'visa term'). Срока is Genitive because it is the object of the expiration (истечение срока = expiration of the term), and визы is Genitive because it defines the term (срок визы = term of the visa).
Why is the perfective verb вернуться used with должен here?
The obligation here is to perform a single, completed action with a concrete result: leaving and getting back home. When talking about a specific, one-time requirement rather than a habitual duty or ongoing process, должен takes a perfective verb.
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