Russian House

Many students get confused about telling time in Russian, and telling at what time something happened is no exception. Today I want to discuss the use of prepositions and the expression of time.

Consider how you might answer the following questions:
В котором часу?
Во сколько?
Когда?

The easiest situation is right on the hour, using в + ACC, as below:
Когда ты придёшь домой?
Я приду в час. (в два часа, в шесть часов…).

The same rule holds for all times up to the half hour point:
Я приду в пять минут шестого. (at five past five, or five minutes into the sixth hour)
У нас будет встреча в пятнадцать минут первого. (We have a meeting at quarter past 12, fifteen minutes into the first hour)

On the half-hour, you use the same preposition, but a different case – в + PREP:
Я приду в половине шестого. (at half past five)

You can get around this rule in speaking by using the colloquial shortened form in which you drop –овине, smash the last two words together and get в полшестого. Note here that the ending looks to be genitive, but that this is a function of losing the case marker with the contraction and not just using a different case.

You can also be less specific with the construction and just indicate at approximately what time something will occur:
Мы приедем в восьмом часу. (We’ll be there sometime past seven but before eight – in the eighth hour)

In general, however, the vast majority of the situations using В in telling what time something is happening will be using the accusative. Consider the following expressions:
в последнюю минуту (at the last minute)
в последний момент (at the last moment)
в поздний час (at a late hour)
в следующий раз (next time)

The last part of the clock’s dial is after the half-hour up to the hour, and here we use без +GEN:
Мы приедем без пятнадцати шесть. (We’ll be there at quarter to six, or without fifteen minutes six o’clock).

In colloquial Russian (spoken only) you can hear some interesting combinations of prepositions. Consider the following:
До какого часа вы работаете сегодя?
До без пятнадцати восемь. (Until a quarter to eight)

You’ll want to avoid this construction in writing, however, by rephrasing the sentence perhaps this way:
У нас работа заканчивается без пятнадцати восемь.

Remember that you NEVER want to say or write в без пятнадцати восемь – в is not just a substitute for at and the picture is a little trickier than that.

Итак, I hope that this review will help you to plan meeting times better, though punctuality will still be up to you. До следующего раза!

Filed under: Uncategorized