Breakdown of То ли во сне, то ли наяву ко мне подошла странная фигура.
в
in / to (direction)
мне
to me
странный
strange
к
towards, to
подойти
to approach, to come up to
сон
dream (while sleeping) / sleep
то ли
either ... or (expressing doubt)
фигура
figure
наяву
in reality
Questions & Answers about То ли во сне, то ли наяву ко мне подошла странная фигура.
Could I use или ..., или ... instead of то ли ..., то ли ... in this sentence?
You could, but it would change the meaning. То ли ..., то ли ... expresses the speaker's own uncertainty or confusion (I'm not sure if it was a dream or reality). If you used или ..., или ..., it would sound more like a strict logical alternative, which feels unnatural when describing your own subjective, mysterious experience.
What kind of word is наяву and where does it come from?
Наяву is an adverb meaning in reality or while awake. It was formed by combining the preposition на with the noun явь (reality, the waking state). You will very often see it contrasted directly with во сне (in a dream), just like it is here.
Why do we see the prepositions во and ко here instead of their normal forms в and к?
The letter о is added to these prepositions for easier pronunciation. This euphony rule kicks in when the following word starts with certain awkward consonant clusters. Here, в becomes во before сне, and к becomes ко before мне.
Why does the sentence use подошла rather than пришла for approached?
The prefix под- means to approach or come right up to something, and it pairs perfectly with the preposition к (towards). Пришла would simply mean the figure arrived, whereas подошла ко мне paints the specific picture of the figure stepping right up into the speaker's personal space.
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