Breakdown of Нам нужно пробраться тёмным лесом, а затем идти опушкой.
а
and (contrastive)
мы
we
идти
to go (on foot) / to proceed, go (of a process)
нужно
it is necessary
Questions & Answers about Нам нужно пробраться тёмным лесом, а затем идти опушкой.
Why are тёмным лесом and опушкой in the instrumental case without a preposition like через or по?
This is the "Bare Instrumental of Route." In Russian, you can use the instrumental case on its own to express the space or path you are moving through or along. While you could say через тёмный лес (through the dark forest) or по опушке (along the edge), the bare instrumental gives a more descriptive, immersive, and slightly literary feel.
Can I use this "bare instrumental of route" for any place I walk through, like a city or a building?
No, it is quite restricted. It is mostly used with open spaces, natural landscapes, and established paths. Common examples include лесом (through the forest), полем (through the field), дорогой (along the road), and улицей (along the street). For other places, like a city (город) or a room (комната), you must use prepositions like через (through) or по (around/along).
What exactly does the verb пробраться mean here, and why not just use пройти?
Пробраться means to make one's way through with some effort, difficulty, or stealth. It implies there are obstacles—like dense underbrush in a dark forest. Пройти is just a neutral "to go through," whereas пробраться paints a picture of pushing branches aside or sneaking carefully through the dark.
Why does the sentence switch from a perfective verb (пробраться) to an imperfective verb (идти)?