Questions & Answers about Зимой во дворе делают каток.
How does the noun каток relate to the verbs катить and катать from this lesson?
The word каток (ice rink) is built directly from the same root as катать (to roll or to ride around). An ice rink is literally the place where people go to ride around (кататься) on ice skates. Interestingly, it can also refer to a steamroller, linking back to the unidirectional verb катить (to roll an object).
Why is there no pronoun before делают?
Dropping the pronoun они before a third-person plural verb is the standard Russian way to express an indefinite subject. It translates to the general English 'they' (as in 'they say' or 'they make') or to a passive structure like 'an ice rink is made'.
Why does the sentence use во дворе instead of just в дворе?
The preposition в adds an о to become во before certain consonant clusters, making it easier to pronounce. This happens most often when the next word starts with в or ф, but it is also required before the дв cluster in the word двор.
Why is the word for winter (зима) in the instrumental case (зимой)?
Russian uses the instrumental case for seasons and parts of the day to turn them into adverbs of time answering the question 'when?'. Just as утро (morning) becomes утром (in the morning), зима becomes зимой to mean 'in winter' or 'during winter'.