Breakdown of А вёснами эти птицы возвращаются и гнездятся.
и
and
а
and (contrastive)
птица
bird
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
весна
spring
возвращаться
to return, to come back
гнездиться
to nest
Questions & Answers about А вёснами эти птицы возвращаются и гнездятся.
Why is вёснами in the instrumental plural, and not used with a preposition?
In Russian, the bare instrumental case (without a preposition) is used to state when an action happens. Using the plural form вёснами specifically expresses temporal iteration. It emphasizes that the action happens repeatedly, 'spring after spring' or 'every spring'.
Could I just use the singular instrumental весной to mean 'every spring'? What is the difference?
Yes, the singular весной usually means 'in spring' and is frequently used for general or recurring facts too. However, the plural вёснами strongly emphasizes the repetition over many seasons. It gives the sentence a more descriptive or narrative tone, highlighting the cycle of nature.
Why does the sentence start with А rather than И for 'And'?
While И simply adds information, А is a transitioning conjunction. It indicates a shift in focus or a mild contrast. Here, it implies a change in the narrative, such as contrasting what the birds were doing in the winter with their arrival in the spring.
Both verbs возвращаются and гнездятся end in -ся. Are they both standard reflexive verbs?
They both have the reflexive particle, but for slightly different reasons. Возвращаться (to return) uses -ся to make the action intransitive; the birds are returning themselves, rather than returning an object. Гнездиться (to nest) is a verb built from the noun гнездо (nest), where -ся is a fixed part of the word indicating the state of living in or making a nest.
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