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Questions & Answers about Медведи спят зимами.
Why do we use the bare instrumental plural зимами here instead of using a preposition?
In Russian, using the bare instrumental plural of a season or time noun expresses temporal iteration. This means the action happens repeatedly during those times. Зимами directly translates to 'during winters' or 'winter after winter', completely removing the need for a preposition.
How does зимами change the meaning compared to just saying зимой?
Зимой (instrumental singular) is the standard way to say 'in winter' and can refer to a general fact or a single specific winter. Зимами (instrumental plural) puts special emphasis on the repeating, cyclical nature of the action across multiple different winter seasons.
Wait, doesn't спать end in -ать? Why is the form спят rather than спают?
The verb спать (to sleep) is a common exception that often trips learners up. Even though it ends in -ать, it takes second conjugation endings. The stem drops the -а-, giving us forms like я сплю, ты спишь, and the 3rd person plural они спят.
I remember мёд means honey. Is it related to the word медведи?
Yes, it is! The word медведь historically combines the roots for honey (мёд) and eating or knowing (from the older Slavic root ведать). So a bear in Russian is literally named a 'honey-eater'.