Breakdown of По завершении медитации мы делаем глубокий выдох.
мы
we
делать
to do
глубокий
deep
по
upon / after (formal, e.g., upon arrival)
завершение
the completion
медитация
meditation
выдох
exhalation
Questions & Answers about По завершении медитации мы делаем глубокий выдох.
How does По завершении медитации demonstrate syntactic compression?
It uses a verbal noun (завершение) to compress a time clause into a prepositional phrase. Instead of using a full subordinate clause like После того как мы завершили медитацию (After we finished the meditation) or a gerund like Завершив медитацию (Having finished the meditation), it acts as a compact noun phrase meaning 'upon completion of the meditation'. This is a hallmark of formal or instructional Russian.
Why does завершении end in -ии here?
When the preposition по means 'after' or 'upon', it requires the Prepositional case (unlike its usual Dative case for 'along' or 'according to'). For neuter nouns ending in -ие like завершение, the Prepositional case ending is -ии. You will frequently see this in formal expressions like по приезде (upon arrival) and по окончании (upon finishing).
Why is медитации in the Genitive case?
When a verb is nominalized (turned into a noun), what would have been its direct object shifts into the Genitive case, acting like 'of' in English. If we used an active verb, we would use the Accusative: завершать медитацию (to complete the meditation). Because we are using the noun завершение, it becomes завершение медитации (completion of the meditation).
Why use делаем глубокий выдох instead of simply using the verb выдыхаем?
While мы глубоко выдыхаем (we exhale deeply) is grammatically correct, Russian frequently pairs a 'light verb' like делать (to do/make) with a noun to describe a physical action. This structure easily accommodates adjectives (like глубокий) and is the most natural, expected phrasing you will hear in Russian fitness, medical, or meditation instructions.
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