Breakdown of Студенты сутками практикуются перед экзаменом.
студент
student (m)
экзамен
exam
перед
in front of / of (with fear) / before (in time)
сутки
twenty-four hours, a full day
практиковаться
to practice
Questions & Answers about Студенты сутками практикуются перед экзаменом.
Why is сутками in the instrumental case here?
In Russian, putting a time noun in the bare instrumental plural often emphasizes an extended, uninterrupted duration or a repetitive action. Here, сутками means they practice for days on end or whole days at a time. You will often see this pattern with other time words in the instrumental plural, like часами (for hours on end) or годами (for years).
What is the exact difference between сутками and днями?
сутки specifically refers to a full 24-hour period of day and night, whereas день refers to the daytime or a general calendar day. Saying сутками emphasizes that the students are practicing around the clock, making the studying sound much more intense. Also note that сутки is a plural-only noun, so сутками is its standard instrumental form.
Why do we use the imperfective verb практикуются?
The imperfective aspect is used because the sentence focuses on the continuous, ongoing process of practicing. Expressions of extended, unbroken duration like сутками (for days on end) almost always pair with imperfective verbs, since they highlight how long an action lasts rather than its final completion.
Why does экзамен change to экзаменом at the end of the sentence?
It takes the instrumental case because of the preposition перед (before). Whether you are talking about a point in time (before the exam) or a physical location (in front of the building), перед requires the noun that immediately follows it to take the instrumental case.
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