Breakdown of На новых афишах не только дата, но и время спектакля.
и
and
не
not
новый
new
только
only
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
время
time
но
but
дата
date
спектакль
performance
афиша
poster / playbill (for events or performances)
Questions & Answers about На новых афишах не только дата, но и время спектакля.
Why is there no verb for "show" in the Russian sentence?
In Russian, present tense verbs of existence are often omitted. The sentence literally translates to "On the new posters [is] not only the date..." Using the location phrase На новых афишах (On the new posters) implies the existence of the text, making a literal translation of the verb "show" unnecessary.
How does the "not only... but also" structure work here?
Russian uses the paired conjunction не только ..., но и ... for this. It works almost exactly like its English equivalent. Notice that it uses но (but) followed by и (which here acts as "also" or "even") to connect the date and the time.
Why is спектакля in the genitive case?
Nouns modifying other nouns typically take the genitive case in Russian to show association or belonging. Спектакля is the genitive form of the masculine noun спектакль (performance). So, время спектакля translates directly as "the time of the performance".
How does this use of не compare to the ни один (not a single) structure from our current lesson?
While ни один creates emphatic absolute negation to stress that absolutely zero things are present, this sentence uses не только (not only) for additive emphasis. The не here doesn't negate the existence of the date; instead, it emphatically reveals that additional information (the time) is also present.
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