Breakdown of Мы часами размышляли о жизни и искусстве.
и
and
мы
we
о
about (о, об, обо)
искусство
art
час
hour
жизнь
life
размышлять
to ponder
Questions & Answers about Мы часами размышляли о жизни и искусстве.
Why is часами in the instrumental case here?
The bare instrumental plural is used with time nouns to show an extended, continuous duration. In this case, часами translates to "for hours" or "for hours on end." You will also see this pattern with words like годами (for years) and днями (for days).
Could I just use the accusative case for duration and say много часов instead of часами?
Yes, you could say много часов (many hours), but the instrumental часами carries a slightly different emotional nuance. It emphasizes the sheer length or intensity of the time spent, rather than just stating an objective quantity.
Why do we use о instead of об before искусстве, which starts with a vowel?
The preposition is placed only before the first noun in the linked phrase жизни и искусстве. Since жизни starts with a consonant, the preposition takes the form о. If the order were reversed, you would say об искусстве и жизни.
What is the difference between размышляли and the basic verb думали?
While думать is the everyday verb for "to think", размышлять implies a deeper, more extended process of thought. It translates better to "to ponder" or "to reflect", which perfectly suits the philosophical context of reflecting on life and art.
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