In Russian, the verb ‘to be’ is not usually used in the present tense, but is used in the past and future tenses. Look at the examples:
Present tense
Иван сейчас в офисе.
Ivan is in the office now.
Past tense
Иван вчера был в офисе.
Ivan was in the office yesterday.
Future tense
Иван завтра будет в офисе.
Ivan will be in the office tomorrow.
In Unit 8, we’ll practice using the verb ‘to be’ – ‘быть’ – in the past tense. The past tense forms of ‘быть’ are formed following the rule from Lesson 1.
Infinitive | быть |
Masculine | он был |
Feminine | она была |
Neuter | оно было |
Plural | они были |
NOTE! In the feminine form, the stress shifts from the root to the ‘-а’ ending.
Listen to the audio & read the examples:
1. Джон вчера был в музее.
John was in the museum yesterday.
2. В субботу Надя была в театре.
On Saturday, Nadya was at the theater.
3. А: Где вы вчера были?
В: Мы были в кино.
A: Where were you yesterday?
B: We were at the cinema.
4. Вчера мы ужинали в ресторане. Было очень вкусно.
Yesterday, we had dinner at a restaurant. It was very tasty.
NOTE! When talking about the place you were at, you use the ‘в’ preposition and a noun in the Prepositional case (we will review the Prepositional case in Lesson 8).
Listen to the audio to hear the correct answers