# в/на and a period of time



## dePrades

*Discussion split from here: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1447972*

Actually, my question is not concerned with первый and второй... but with в/на and a period of time... 



I noticed that you say в прошлом году but на прошлом день and на прошлой неделе. When do I have to use в and на? I know that with неделя it's always на but what about the others? Any clue? Thanks for your help!


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## morzh

One would have to list all possible time periods and the preps for them.

And it is very tedious task.

For instance:

Год. (Year)
*В году* - 365 дней (there are 365 days in a  year).
*На год* нам нужно 3 мешка картошки (we need 3 sacks of potatoes for one year).
*За* *год *мы истратили все наши запасы угля (We spent all of our coal supply in a year).
*В этом году* у меня родился ребенок (This year I had a baby born).

And this is not all. So what you're asking requires a pretty intensive effort.


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## dePrades

Morzh, first of all: thanks very much. Secondly, I don't pretend that  you spend your next holidays working for me...  however, I would  appreciate any link to any webpage explaining prepositions + time in  Russian (if someone has already spent his/her holidays working on that  topic ;P). I'm not so interested in the difference between



morzh said:


> *На год* нам нужно 3 мешка картошки (we need 3 sacks of potatoes for one year).
> *За* *год *мы истратили все наши запасы угля (We spent all of our coal supply in a year).



I understand it, and it works the same for год, день, etc. My question is more about which preposition should I use when referring to a period of time preceded by прошлый or следующий or just without these words meaning "on Sunday". For example, in English I know that before days is "on" (on Monday), before months is "in" (in June) but with "next" and "last" there's no preposition (next Monday, last June)... In Russian it seems to be a preposition before these two words but I'm unable to find the right one every time I need to use this sentence in compositions, so I'm wondering if there's any kind of rule (besides native speakers' intuition) that could help a poor foreign student like me? Thanks for your "support"


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## morzh

dePrades said:


> Morzh, first of all: thanks very much. Secondly, I don't pretend that  you spend your next holidays working for me...  however, I would  appreciate any link to any webpage explaining prepositions + time in  Russian (if someone has already spent his/her holidays working on that  topic ;P). I'm not so interested in the difference between
> 
> 
> 
> I understand it, and it works the same for год, день, etc. My question is more about which preposition should I use when referring to a period of time preceded by прошлый or следующий or just without these words meaning "on Sunday". For example, in English I know that before days is "on" (on Monday), before months is "in" (in June) but with "next" and "last" there's no preposition (next Monday, last June)... In Russian it seems to be a preposition before these two words but I'm unable to find the right one every time I need to use this sentence in compositions, so I'm wondering if there's any kind of rule (besides native speakers' intuition) that could help a poor foreign student like me? Thanks for your "support"




Gosh, I honestly don't know websites like that, but I'm sure someone here will point you to something somewhere.

Here is just one trick for you:

For example, when using "last" (last Sunday, last month) you can say it two ways:
Last Sunday I went to the park.
1. В прошлое воскресенье я пошел в парк. (lit. "in last Sunday")
2. Прошлым воскресеньем я пошел в парк. ("by last Sunday" - Sunday put in Instrumental)

These two mean the same.


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## Maroseika

dePrades said:


> but на прошлом день


Even прошлым днем (formally correct form) is hardly applicable in the sense of 'yesterday'. Usually we say вчера.


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## morzh

Maroseika said:


> Even прошлым днем (formally correct form) is hardly applicable in the sense of 'yesterday'. Usually we say вчера.




I never even heard that one.
Actually, even "позапрошлым днем" I never heard either - it is "позавчера".

But. I have just googled it - it is in use. "Позапрошлым днем" is used (and, thinking of it - rightly so) when saying "датировано позапрошлым днем" - you cannot really say "датировано позавчера (позавчерам  )", and same is true for "прошлым днем".

But, for fairness' sake, this usage is different from the one in question, where "прошлым днем" used in place of "вчера". They both are the same constructs, using instrumental case, but in fact they answer different question.


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## dePrades

Thanks for your help, but in the sentence "я приехала воскресенью, потому что он позвонил меня на прошлом день", would it be possible to write "я приехала воскресенью, потому что он позвонил меня прошлым днем"? Or "прошлым днем" only refers to "вчера"?


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## morzh

dePrades said:


> Thanks for your help, but in the sentence "я приехала воскресенью *в воскресенье*, потому что он позвонил меня *мне* на прошлом день*вчера*", would it be possible to write "я приехала воскресенью, потому что он позвонил меня прошлым днем"? Or "прошлым днем" only refers to "вчера"?



I don't think you can use "прошлый день" in here.

But, I think, you can do this:

Я приехала, потому что в прошлое воскресенье он мне позвонил и позвал в гости.
Я приехала, потому что прошлым воскресеньем он мне позвонил и позвал в гости.


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## dePrades

but you can use "вчера" meaning "the day before"? How would you say in Russian "I couldn't come to your party because the day before I broke my leg"? я не смог приходить на вечеринку, потому что вчера/на прошлом день я сломал ногу?


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## morzh

dePrades said:


> but you can use "вчера" meaning "the day before"? How would you say in Russian "I couldn't come to your party because the day before I broke my leg"? я не смог приходить на вечеринку, потому что вчера/на прошлом день я сломал ногу?



You can say "вчера or "днём раньше" or "за день до того".

я не смог приходить  *прийти *на вечеринку, потому что вчера/на прошлом день (*днём ранее* / *за день до того)* я сломал ногу.

Note:

*Вчера* is used in direct speech, when you explain your reasons to someone, not in retrospect.
"*Я не пришел, потому что я вчера сломал ногу*".
"Днем ранее / задень до того" is usually used when you tell it in retrospect. Like, you tell it to someone a month later. Or if you write a story (probably because it is usually in retrospect  too).
"*Я не пришел, потому что днем ранее я сломал ногу*".

PS. Same is true in English. If today I speak to a person about what happen yesterday, I will say "...because yesterday I broke my leg".
In retrospect, I will tell "I could not come because the day before I broke my leg".


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## dePrades

morzh said:


> Я приехала, потому что в прошлое воскресенье он мне позвонил и позвал в гости.
> Я приехала, потому что прошлым воскресеньем он мне позвонил и позвал в гости.



Thanks for your help.. That's not was I was pretending to say (I wanted to say "I came on Sunday because the day before he phoned me" but I think I've been answered in your next post. It's quite "surprising" for me that you can use "вчера" meaning "the day before"... but with Russian, you never know


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## morzh

Actually now I have a question.

"На прошлой субботе / в прошлую субботу / прошлой субботой".

Can all three be used in the sentence:

На прошлой субботе (прошлой субботой, в прошлую субботу) у нас был концерт.


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## Natalisha

morzh said:


> Actually now I have a question.
> 
> "На прошлой субботе / в прошлую субботу / прошлой субботой".
> 
> Can all three be used in the sentence:
> 
> На прошлой субботе (прошлой субботой, в прошлую субботу) у нас был концерт.




В прошлую субботу у нас был концерт.
На прошлой неделе в субботу у нас был концерт.

I've never heard 'на прошлой субботе/прошлой субботой' used this way.


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## dePrades

morzh said:


> *Вчера* is used in direct speech, when you explain your reasons to someone, not in retrospect.
> "*Я не пришел, потому что я вчера сломал ногу*".
> "Днем ранее / задень до того" is usually used when you tell it in retrospect. Like, you tell it to someone a month later. Or if you write a story (probably because it is usually in retrospect  too).
> "*Я не пришел, потому что днем ранее я сломал ногу*".
> 
> PS. Same is true in English. If today I speak to a person about what happen yesterday, I will say "...because yesterday I broke my leg".
> In retrospect, I will tell "I could not come because the day before I broke my leg".



Understood! Thanks again! My problem came because what I understood from my teacher is that "на прошлом день" could be translated as "yesterday" but as well as "the day before", and this latter seems not to be true... On the other hand, I think that my problem with prepositions will remain unsolved so I'll try your strategy with instrumental case...

PS: I'd like to help you, but your question is far beyond my Russian


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## Natalisha

dePrades said:


> My problem came because what I understood from my teacher is that "на прошлом прошлый день" could be translated as "yesterday" but as well as "the day before", and this latter seems not to be true...


Neither 'на прошлый день' nor 'в прошлый день' sound good.
Usually we say 'днем ранее' as Morzh said or if you mention some event you can say 'за день до этого (события)'.


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## morzh

Also you can say "предыдущим днем" (rare) where you say "днем ранее".

"Прошлый день" sounds wrong. "Предыдущий день" is OK, I think. But it is only used where you literally want to say that - "the day before". And I mean literally. And even this is rare. 

Like, in:

Let's see the calendar. Next Sunday. OK, so it's a long weekend. So here we have this day, *day before* and day that follows. Good!

Посмотрим на календарь. Следующее воскресенье. Хорошо, это длинный уикенд. Так что, у нас есть этот день,* предыдущий день* и день следующий.


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## morzh

Natalisha said:


> В прошлую субботу у нас был концерт.
> На прошлой неделе в субботу у нас был концерт.
> 
> I've never heard 'на прошлой субботе/прошлой субботой' used this way.



Well, let me make it more of a general question:
Do all three types exist when it comes to it being a time adverbial mod. (Обстоятельство времени)? Concert notwithstanding?


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## eni8ma

morzh said:


> Gosh, I honestly don't know websites like that, but I'm sure someone here will point you to something somewhere.



Someone gave me this link to a page which is an excellent intro to the vagaries of time periods in Russian. 

http://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/time.html


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## Natalisha

morzh said:


> Well, let me make it more of a general question:
> Do all three types exist when it comes to it being a time adverbial mod. (Обстоятельство времени)? Concert notwithstanding?


No, these word combinations sound very strange. 

Прошлой осенью/зимой/весной, прошлым летом. Прошлым вторником. 
На прошлых выходных.  На прошлом вторнике.


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## dePrades

eni8ma said:


> Someone gave me this link to a page which is an excellent intro to the vagaries of time periods in Russian.
> 
> http://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/time.html


 
eni8ma... thanks a lot! that was exactly what I was looking for... It's really really helpful. But now, two questions arise again... - do Russians say "на кануне", don't they? And it's shorter than a week and should go with accusative... could we consider it an excepction...- and what about "на следующий день"?


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## Maroseika

eni8ma said:


> Someone gave me this link to a page which is an excellent intro to the vagaries of time periods in Russian.
> 
> http://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/time.html



Really, great link. However I noticed two wrong examples there:

_"There are several ways of indicating approximate punctual time in Russian. The simplest is to simply reverse the number and the noun (в часов пять "around five o'clock")".
_
This is wrong recomendation. Reversing is really needed, but it is like that:

That work needs to be finished by about 5 o'clock.
Надо кончить эту работу в часов пять.
Надо кончить эту работу часов в пять.
Cf.: Надо кончить эту работу в пять часов (= at 5.00).
In other words we have *to reverse the (number + prepostion) and the noun*.

And in this case the error is stylistical:
That work needs to be finished by evening.
Надо кончить эту работу под вечер.
Надо кончить эту работу до вечера (к вечеру).
"Под вечер" is of quite another - bookish, romantic, I don't know... - style, such as in:
Под вечер разыгралась буря.


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## Maroseika

dePrades said:


> two questions arise again... - do Russians say "на кануне", don't they? And it's shorter than a week and should go with accusative... could we consider it an excepction...- and what about "на следующий день"?



Накануне (as a solid word) means yesterday or the day before (some event). Figuratively it means just on the eve of some event. 
Канун - eve, so it is not a unit of duration and therefore cannot be shorther or longer than smth.


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## eni8ma

Maroseika said:


> Really, great link. However I noticed two wrong examples there:
> 
> That work needs to be finished by evening.
> Надо кончить эту работу под вечер.
> Надо кончить эту работу до вечера (к вечеру).



In that document (from the link), he says "deadlines" (my word) are expressed as к + dative:
 - Надо кончить эту работу *к* пятнице.
- That work needs to be finished *by* Friday.

Маросейка's example included:
- Надо кончить эту работу к вечеру.
- That work needs to be finished *by* evening.

до + Genitive seems to express "until" or "before"
- мы там были до вечера
- We were there *until* the evening.

- Надо кончить эту работу до вечера.
- That work needs to be finished *before* this evening.


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## eni8ma

dePrades said:


> Russians say "на кануне", don't they? And it's shorter than a week and should go with accusative... could we consider it an exception?



It would seem (and I'm only going by examples I have found) that for events, на + accusative is used.
(To say which week, it is на + prepositional)

 - на Рождество - at Christmas
 - на Пасху - at Easter
- на кануне - on the eve of ...

Eve is generally used as part of an event name - Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, etc.


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## morzh

eni8ma said:


> - на кануне - on the eve of ...
> 
> Eve is generally used as part of an event name - Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, etc.



"накануне" - spelled together.

Also:

"On the  eve" means "в канун". Not "накануне".

"Накануне" indeed had to do with "канун", but if "в канун" indeed means "on the eve" (В канун рождества - Christmas eve), "накануне" usually means simply "day before" or "shortly before".

Накануне нам привезли посылку - Day before we got a  package.
Накануне Второй мировой войны советская разведка получала донесения с возможной датой начала боевых действий - shortly before WWII soviet intelligence had information about a possible date of the beginning of the war.


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## eni8ma

dePrades said:


> Russians say "на кануне", don't they? And it's shorter than a week and should go with accusative... could we consider it an excepction?


"на кануне" is incorrect, as морж points out (although it does yield 623,000 results on Google)
"в канун" (в + Acc) is the correct form: 12,600,000 results


morzh said:


> "On the  eve" means "в канун".
> "on the eve" (В канун рождества - Christmas eve)


So my theory about events was reasonable:*
на* + Acc for the event
на Рождество - on/at/for Christmas
  на Новый год - on/at/for New Year
на Пасху - on/at/for Easter

That does actually agree with the document on Time Expressions, where he says *на* + Acc is for duration.  Since events like Christmas, Easter, etc. last for at least a whole day, or even a few days (Easter) perhaps that's why the duration form is used (?).

But for the eve of an event (which is shorter than a week)
*в* + Acc
*в* канун Рождества - on Christmas Eve

*в* Канун нового года - does not seem to be used, at least not in that exact form; the closest I found was "*в* течение Кануна нового года" - ? during New Year's Eve; the current New Year's Eve ?


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## morzh

eni8ma said:


> *в* Канун нового года - does not seem to be used, at least not in that exact form; the closest I found was "*в* течение Кануна нового года" - ? during New Year's Eve; the current New Year's Eve ?



В канун Нового года - is OK.
В течение кануна Нового года - sounds awful.


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## eni8ma

morzh said:


> В канун Нового года - is OK.
> В течение кануна Нового года - sounds awful.


I must've mistyped something when I did that Google search before, 'cos now when I entered "В канун Нового года" is came up with 18,700,000 results. 

I take it you agree with the others though.

на Рождество - at/for Christmas
  на Новый год - on/for New Year
на Пасху - at/for Easter

в канун Рождества - on Christmas eve
в Канун нового года - on New Year's eve


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## dePrades

I'm learning quite an awful lot with your links and your comments... you're really being very helpful. 

I'm just trying to put everything in my mind in order and I have quite a lot of chaos... Now, I was just wondering why do they sing "только раз в году" in this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTnGxA6As4I) if according to the website eni8ma gave to us it's раз + в + accusative?


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## eni8ma

I'm not sure.

I do know that в only takes Acc or Prep, or locative, for those nouns  that require it. год uses locative so году is the Prep, or locative  case.

For some reason they are using в + Prep, which is for periods greater than a week.
в + Acc seems to be the more common for "раз в", though.
 The same results seem to happen for "раз в час/часа".

Perhaps Russians themselves aren't sure which case to use?


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## Natalisha

eni8ma said:


> I'm not sure.
> 
> I do know that в only takes Acc or Prep, or locative, for those nouns  that require it. год uses locative so году is the Prep, or locative  case.
> 
> For some reason they are using в + Prep, which is for periods greater than a week.
> в + Acc seems to be the more common for "раз в", though.
> The same results seem to happen for "раз в час/часа".
> 
> Perhaps Russians themselves aren't sure which case to use?


 What makes you think so?

В году 365 дней. (prep.)
В неделе 7 дней. (prep.)
В сутках 24 часа. (prep.)

We don't say "раз в часа", only "раз в час", "раз в два/три/часа", "раз в пять/шесть/семь/etc. часов".


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## eni8ma

dePrades asked this question.


dePrades said:


> Now, I was just wondering why do they sing "только раз в году" in this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTnGxA6As4I) if according to the website eni8ma gave to us it's раз + в + accusative?


When I did a search, both for "раз в году" and "раз в год", I found that although there are certainly more results for "раз в год", there were still a great many for "раз в году".  So then I searched for "раз в часа" and "раз в час", and got a similar result - more for "раз в час", but still many for "раз в часа".

I do realise that just because it turns up on a website, that doesn't make it right. There are people who put the most awful English up on websites.

I was simply suggesting that just as there are people who do not seem to know how to use English properly, so also, there seem to many Russians who aren't sure what case to use. Was not, of course, referring to educated, well-spoken Russians. 

Simply observing that we foreigners are not the only ones who struggle with cases, and that there was not enough information (for dePrades and me) to understand why the song uses locative instead of accusative.


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## Mr_Darcy

dePrades said:


> Now, I was just wondering why do the sing "только раз в году" in this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTnGxA6As4I) if according to the website eni8ma gave to us it's раз + в + accusative?


Both options are possible.
The other option can be found in the song "Один раз в год сады цветут".

The same variation is also possible with days and weeks, but a) the presposition will change, b) the Prep. option will sound very colloquial (often with a flavour of disapproval).

Препарат принимают _пять раз в день_, каждые два часа. *OK*
Он мне звонит пять раз на дню, каждые два часа! *OK* (disapproval)
BUT Препарат принимают пять раз на дню, каждые два часа. *NO*! (it's a NO because you cannot use this language in a formal document; on the other hand, you could say with a disapproving tone: "Он эти таблетки ест не переставая, по десять раз на дню")

У него семь пятниц на неделе (a proverb, means he changes his mind every now and then) *OK*
Он ко мне, бывало, по несколько (or нескольку) раз на неделе заходил. *ОК* (He would call on me several times a week.)
BUT: Управляющий комитет заседает два раза в неделю. *ОК*


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## Mr_Darcy

eni8ma said:


> So then I searched for "раз в часа" and "раз в час", and got a similar result - more for "раз в час", but still many for "раз в часа".



I googled "раз в часа" and I see what the problem is. "Раз в часа" is literate Russian, but in phrases irrelevant to our case. What google finds are sentences like "с периодичностью примерно раз в часа два-три." Here the reverse word order (раз в часа два-три instead of раз в два-три часа) just emphasises the fact that it's a rough estimate. So, it's still the good old "раз в час" model.


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## eni8ma

Mr_Darcy said:


> Both options are possible.
> 
> The same variation is also possible with days and weeks, but a) the preposition will change, b) the Prep. option will sound very colloquial (often with a flavour of disapproval).


Mystery solved - thank you - another "ok, but old-fashioned/quaint/colloqial" situation


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## eni8ma

Mr_Darcy said:


> I googled "раз в часа" and I see what the problem is. "Раз в часа" is literate Russian, but in phrases irrelevant to our case. What google finds are sentences like "с периодичностью примерно раз в часа два-три." Here the reverse word order (раз в часа два-три instead of раз в два-три часа) just emphasises the fact that it's a rough estimate. So, it's still the good old "раз в час" model.


Got it! thanks for that


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## eni8ma

My observations to date ...

As per the web page at alphadictionary, there are three kinds of time periods:
_*event*_: when did it happen? - perfective verb
_*duration*_: for how long did it happen? - imperfective, progressive
*frequency*: how often did it happen? - imperfective, iterative

(for "did", read "did/does/will")

I have renamed "punctuality" to "event", because  "punctuality" did not feel quite right to me.  An event can last for a moment in time through to a whole year (or perhaps more).

Taking the cases separately:
*Prepositional*
в P - *event* - longer than a week e.g. в августе
на P - *event* - a certain week - this week; the week before Christmas

Not sure about these two following - they seem like an event, but do not fit the pattern of using в A for events less than a week.

_на P plural – e.g. _на днях_ - the other day
на этих P plural – e.g _на этих днях_ - one of these days_
 
*Accusative* - here's where it gets trickier:
в A and на A can be used for frequency, duration, and for events (with appropriate verbs).

в A - _*frequency*_: e.g. в день – per day; в  неде́лю – per week
в A - _*event*_: less than a week e.g. в канун Рождества; a minute

на A - *event*: special Events e.g. на Рождество, etc.
на A - *duration*: subsequent to the main action e.g. Она поехала в деревню на месяц

I am wondering whether this sentence fits also with the idea of being subsequent to the main action. The main action is "needing the potatoes", subsequently, we are told, they are to last for a year.


morzh said:


> *На год* нам нужно 3 мешка картошки (we need 3 sacks of potatoes for one year).


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## dePrades

My Russian teacher wrote this sentence in an e-mail and I'm confused again... "вы можете прийти в тот же день или на следующий день"... Why is it "на следующий день с 10.00 до 12.00"? Would it be possible (according to eni8ma's link it would) to say "в следующий день"? Is there any difference in meaning? Thanks in advance!


----------



## Natalisha

dePrades said:


> My Russian teacher wrote this sentence in an e-mail and I'm confused again... "вы можете прийти в тот же день или на следующий день"... Why is it "на следующий день с 10.00 до 12.00"? Would it be possible (according to eni8ma's link it would) to say "в следующий день"? Is there any difference in meaning? Thanks in advance!


No, you can't say 'в следующий день'.


----------



## eni8ma

Well, on Google, these were the searches and the results:
"в тот же день или на следующий" - 527,000
"в тот же день или в следующий" - 4 (this is not a typo )

"в тот же день или в" - 293,000
"в тот же день или в субботу" - 21 (one example)
"в тот же день или в течение" - 192,000

"в следующий день" - 64,300,000
"или в следующий день" - 29
"или в следующий" - 87,700,000

Curiouser and curiouser (this is a quote from Alice in Wonderland, so don't wonder at my English )


----------



## morzh

eni8ma said:


> Well, on Google, these were the searches and the results:
> "в тот же день или на следующий" - 527,000
> "в тот же день или в следующий" - 4 (this is not a typo )
> 
> "в тот же день или в" - 293,000
> "в тот же день или в субботу" - 21 (one example)
> "в тот же день или в течение" - 192,000
> 
> "в следующий день" - 64,300,000
> "или в следующий день" - 29
> "или в следующий" - 87,700,000
> 
> Curiouser and curiouser (this is a quote from Alice in Wonderland, so don't wonder at my English )



Even if the language is not by Carroll, usually no one, who knows anything about English, wonders at all those...exercises. English, especially American, is so choke-full of'em that personally I stopped being amazed long time ago


----------



## eni8ma

morzh said:


> Even if the language is not by Carroll, usually no one, who knows anything about English, wonders at all those...exercises. English, especially American, is so choke-full of'em that personally I stopped being amazed long time ago


True enough 

Can anyone explain these uses of в and на?


----------



## eni8ma

There's another result I need to include, so regrouping, we now have:

"в тот же день или в" - 293,000 - eg "в субботу" - 21, "в течение" - 192,000
 "в тот же день или в следующий" - 4 (this is not a typo )

"в тот же день или на" - 603,000
"в тот же день или на следующий" - 527,000
 "в тот же день или на следующий день" - 242,000

"или на следующий день" - 129,000,000
"или в следующий день" - 29
  "или в следующий" - 87,700,000

These are my conclusions thus far:
"или в следующий день"  is just plain wrong for most contexts
"или на следующий день" 

"или в следующий" but *not* after "в тот же день"
"в тот же день или в"  but not with следующий (why? any other words not used here?)


----------



## dePrades

Natalisha said:


> No, you can't say 'в следующий день'.



Why not? Which is the rule?


----------



## Maroseika

eni8ma said:


> Curiouser and curiouser (this is a quote from Alice in Wonderland, so don't wonder at my English )



Все страньше и страньше (as translated into Russian).

And yes, your conclusion is right, в следующий день is wrong for 'the day after some day', but correct for 'the day of something':
Приходите на следующий день.
Приходите в следующий день приема посетителей.





dePrades said:


> Why not? Which is the rule?


The rule is very simple: в следующий день is wrong in most contexts.
Maybe due to influence of назавтра.


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## Natalisha

dePrades said:


> Why not? Which is the rule?


I don't even know whether such a rule exists or not.
We *always* say 'на следующий день', 'на следующей неделе' but 'в следующем году' and 'в следующий раз'.


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## Maroseika

Strange enough, it appears that в следующий день is not wrong but just outdated.

Besides, I think we can still  use it in one more case - in the sense of 'during the next day':

В следующий день мы успели очень мало.


----------



## eni8ma

Natalisha said:


> I don't even know whether such a rule exists or not.
> We *always* say 'на следующий день', 'на следующей неделе' but 'в следующем году' and 'в следующий раз'.





Maroseika said:


> The rule is very simple: в следующий день is wrong in most contexts.


"на следующий день" - 145,000,000
"в следующий день" - 64,400,000

It is "_*или*_ в следующий день" that is not used.

dePrades, that web page we have been using is not so much "rules" as observations.  This seems to be a situation where the "rules" don't apply. We'll just have to make a note of it, I think.


----------



## eni8ma

Maroseika said:


> Strange enough, it appears that в следующий день is not wrong but just outdated.


Is that a Russian search engine? or what exactly. Whatever it is, it is over my head at the moment


----------



## dePrades

Natalisha said:


> I don't even know whether such a rule exists or not.
> We *always* say 'на следующий день', 'на следующей неделе' but 'в следующем году' and 'в следующий раз'.



And if instead of следующий we have последний do the same prepositions apply? I'm thinking about creating a society "Russian students anonymous"... prepositions, aspect, verbs of motion... I'm going bananas!


----------



## eni8ma

dePrades said:


> And if instead of следующий we have последний do the same prepositions apply? I'm thinking about creating a society "Russian students anonymous"... prepositions, aspect, verbs of motion... I'm going bananas!


Did you read my post?


eni8ma said:


> "на следующий день" - 145,000,000
> "в следующий день" - 64,400,000
> 
> It is "_*или*_ в следующий день" that is not used.
> 
> dePrades, that web page we have been using is not so much "rules" as  observations.  This seems to be a situation where the "rules" don't  apply. We'll just have to make a note of it, I think.


----------



## Ben Jamin

morzh said:


> You can say "вчера or "днём раньше" or "за день до того".
> 
> я не смог приходить  *прийти *на вечеринку, потому что вчера/на прошлом день (*днём ранее* / *за день до того)* я сломал ногу.
> 
> Note:
> 
> *Вчера* is used in direct speech, when you explain your reasons to someone, not in retrospect.
> "*Я не пришел, потому что я вчера сломал ногу*".
> "Днем ранее / задень до того" is usually used when you tell it in retrospect. Like, you tell it to someone a month later. Or if you write a story (probably because it is usually in retrospect too).
> "*Я не пришел, потому что днем ранее я сломал ногу*".
> 
> PS. Same is true in English. If today I speak to a person about what happen yesterday, I will say "...because yesterday I broke my leg".
> In retrospect, I will tell "I could not come because the day before I broke my leg".


 I always believed that *Вчера *in Russian means exactly the same as *yesterday* in English, that is 'the day before today', but not 'the day before I broke my leg last year'.


----------



## eni8ma

dePrades said:


> And if instead of следующий we have последний do the same prepositions apply? I'm thinking about creating a society "Russian students anonymous"... prepositions, aspect, verbs of motion... I'm going bananas!


"или на последний день" - 2,590,000
"или в последний день" - 31,500,000

I only looked at a few, but последний seems to be following the pattern we've been told.

Seems like следующий varies for some reason. English has its abberations that people just have to learn (eg. there's possibly a "rule" that says when to say "o" as "u", but could you explain it? eg front, onion, come, some, etc)


----------



## Maroseika

eni8ma said:


> Is that a Russian search engine? or what exactly. Whatever it is, it is over my head at the moment



This is Russian analog of this resource.
In our case it just testifies to the effect that в следующий день in the sense of на следующий день was used only before the beginning of the 20th century.


----------



## Maroseika

eni8ma said:


> "или на последний день" - 2,590,000
> "или в последний день" - 31,500,000



This proves nothing, because these two expressions are used differently, such e.g.:

Назначить на последний день but сделать в последний день.


----------



## Natalisha

dePrades said:


> And if instead of следующий we have последний do the same prepositions apply? I'm thinking about creating a society "Russian students anonymous"... prepositions, aspect, verbs of motion... I'm going bananas!


Me too when I try to find answers to your questions. 
These phrases with 'на/в' seem to be easier memorized than explained.


eni8ma said:


> "или на последний день" - 2,590,000
> "или в последний день" - 31,500,000


With 'последний' both are possible depending on the context. 

_Мы отложили много дел на последний / следующий день.

В последний день весны они прощались со школой._

But we don't say 'в следующий день'.


----------



## eni8ma

Maroseika said:


> This proves nothing, because these two expressions are used differently, such e.g.:
> 
> Назначить на последний день but сделать в последний день.


I know they are different.

The point is that although "на следующий день" and "в следующий день" are both used, "_*или*_ в следующий день" is not used.

dePrades asked if the same was so for последний, so my searches showed that _both_ "или на последний день" and "или в последний день" are in common use, each in their own way.


----------



## eni8ma

Natalisha said:


> But we don't say 'в следующий день'.


There were 64,400,000 results for "в следующий день". However "_*или*_ в следующий день" is not used.


----------



## Natalisha

eni8ma said:


> There were 64,400,000 results for "в следующий день". However "_*или*_ в следующий день" is not used.



I couldn't find any.  Could you give us a couple of examples, please?


----------



## alex97687

natalisha said:


> no, these word combinations sound very strange.
> 
> Прошлой осенью/зимой/весной, прошлым летом. Прошлым вторником.
> На прошлых выходных.  На прошлом вторнике.



Ссуда погашена прошлым вторником
Запись  о сдаче экзамена сделана прошлым вторником

На прошлом вторнике -  these word combinations sound very strange- НО
На прошлом субботнике
На прошлом утреннике


----------



## eni8ma

Natalisha said:


> I couldn't find any.  Could you give us a couple of examples, please?


These are the results.

e.g.
Но уже к полуночи, поняв, что проблему в тот день решить не удастся, предложил им сыграть в следующий день - в четверг, если разрешат

Ваш пропуск в следующий день

Все данные будут в следующий день

Чаще всего пост прерывается в течение 2,5 часов после восхода солнца в следующий день после поста.


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## Sobakus

В следующий день may stress duration, i.e. "during the next day", as opposed to "on the next day", but it still looks awkward in most situations. For all intents and purposes of a language-learner it should be regarded as a mistake. However "ваш пропуск в следующий день" refers to direction and not to time/position, like in "в город"(direction) vs "в городе"(position). This usage is correct, of course.


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## Natalisha

alex97687 said:


> Ссуда погашена прошлым вторником
> Запись  о сдаче экзамена сделана прошлым вторником
> 
> На прошлом вторнике -  these word combinations sound very strange- НО
> На прошлом субботнике
> На прошлом утреннике


Your first two examples are OK maybe because of the phrase 'задним числом' which is very common. But still 'в прошлый вторник' sounds better.


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## Natalisha

eni8ma said:


> These are the results.
> 
> e.g.
> Но уже к полуночи, поняв, что проблему в тот день решить не удастся, предложил им сыграть в следующий день - в четверг, если разрешат
> 
> Ваш пропуск в следующий день
> 
> Все данные будут в следующий день
> 
> Чаще всего пост прерывается в течение 2,5 часов после восхода солнца в следующий день после поста.


I can't see anything else but


> Нет результатов для ""ГђВІ Г‘ВЃГђВ»ГђВµГђВґГ‘ВѓГ‘ВЋГ‘В‰ГђВёГђВ№ ГђВґГђВµГђВЅГ‘ВЊ"".


 Do others see the same?

I like only one of your examples which is 'Ваш пропуск в следующий день', maybe because it reminds me of 'пропуск в будущее', 'путевка в будущее'.


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## dePrades

Natalisha said:


> I don't even know whether such a rule exists or not.
> We *always* say 'на следующий день', 'на следующей неделе' but 'в следующем году' and 'в следующий раз'.


 
I just keep asking the same question... to try to get more data to find out an explanation (if there's one!!!)... I know that learning it by heart is the option but I'm unable to learn all combinations prep + adj + noun... so I'll try to make a rule.. And my question is: do you say...?1a на последний день1b в  последний день2a на последней неделе2b в  последней неделе3a. в последнем году3b. на последнем году4a в последний раз. /4b на последний раз.Sorry for the formatting, but at the moment I'm using a very old computer that doesn't allow me to do anything else


----------



## Sobakus

Natalisha said:


> I can't see anything else but
> 
> Do others see the same?



http://www.google.com/search?client...дующий+день"&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

The first result is nice, btw  Seems like it's been translated by an Italian.


----------



## Natalisha

dePrades said:


> I just keep asking the same question... to try to get more data to find out an explanation (if there's one!!!)...


And if there's no explanation? 


> I know that learning it by heart is the option but I'm unable to learn all combinations prep + adj + noun... so I'll try to make a rule..


Maybe you'll be able to explain to my son why "ambassador TO the USA"? (I told him he had to memorize that.) 


> And my question is: do you say...?
> 1a на последний день  (_Мы отложили поездку на последний день лета. - *отложить на*_)
> 1b в  последний день  (_Они подали заявление в последний день приема документов_)
> 2a на последней неделе
> 2b в  последней неделе
> 3a. в последнем году
> 3b. на последнем году
> 4a в последний раз.
> 4b на последний раз.
> Sorry for the formatting, but at the moment I'm using a very old computer that doesn't allow me to do anything else


I suppose all of them sound good depending on the meaning and the words which surround them.


----------



## eni8ma

Here's the link again - seems like the forum processor mangled it before 

dePrades - the "rules" we have so far are fine (but only an intro) - memorise those, plus this exception, that after *или* use "*на* следующий день".

Otherwise, use:
- в следующий день - for a "place" in time (usually with perfective aspect)
- на следующий день - for duration (with imperfective - progressive)

There are 64,500,000 examples of using "в следующий день" in various circumstances - they can't _all_ be wrong.


----------



## dePrades

Natalisha said:


> Maybe you'll be able to explain to my son why &quot;ambassador TO the USA&quot;? (I told him he had to memorize that.) .


No help for your son, sorry Thanks for your help! I know I'll end trying to memorize it, and forgetting it, and memorizing again... 


Natalisha said:


> I suppose all of them sound good depending on the meaning and the words which surround them.


 
That's what gets me mad... but I'm better than yesterday (I'll take eni8ma advise)  So, don't worry. It's not only that I have to memorize a &quot;chunk of words&quot; but it's worse because this chunk of words sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. And I strongly believe that there should be some logic behind it... even when this logic it's not evident for native speakers... Just trying to find out something, if I find nothing (what's likely to happen) I'll use my memory!


----------



## elemika

Very long thread!  
Some more comment  

*When*  (когда) *does/did / will something take place*?

в этот день (сегодня)/  в предыдущий день (вчера) /завтра; в последующий день (на следующий день, назавтра); 
на этой неделе / на прошлой неделе / на следующей неделе; в  последующую неделю;
в этом месяце / в прошлом месяце /в следующем месяце;   в последующем  месяце;
в этом году / в прошлом году/ в следующем году,  в последующем  году. 

It looks like the terms which mean the date (day, month, year) go with "в" while "неделя" - with "на".

Последующий means "following  something, subsequent"  while «следующий» is the next (to “now”):

  “Следующий день “should behave like “последующий день” (as in the case of  month, year)  but it doesn’t:
  B первый день примите две таблетки, *в* последующий день  - одну  таблетку.
  В первый день примите две таблетки, а  *на* следующий  день примите только одну.

          The trick is that when we say «завтра» we mean «в следующий за сегодняшним день” and we usually don’t use “в следующий день” (next to today):
  Он приезжает завтра.
  Он приедет завтра.

  And we say «*на* следующий день» when the starting point other than “today” (= *в* последующий день, назавтра):
  Сегодня примите две таблетки, а завтра одну.
  В первый день примите две таблетки, а _на следующий день (в последующий день, назавтра)_ – одну.

  Also in the past: we can’t say «он приехал завтра» but:
  Он приехал на следующий день/  Он приехал назавтра/ Он приехал в последующий день

  The same rule functions with Следующий год and Следующий месяц in the past:
  Он поступает в институт в следующем году / в следующем месяце 
  But:
  Он не поступил в институт и *на* следующий год (и *в* последующем году) / и *на* следующий месяц (и *в* последующем месяце).


----------



## morzh

eni8ma said:


> There are 64,500,000 examples of using "в следующий день" in various circumstances - they can't _all_ be wrong.



Nope. Google will deceive you like that.

Go, type "в следующий день" and see actually what it gives you.

Here's an excerpt (the whole 1-st page of search results):



*На следующий день — Википедия*


►
*На следующий день*



*Доставка до 12.00 на  следующий день в города России*



*смотреть На Следующий День, смотреть онлайн На Следующий День ...*



*Самый сок! - А на следующий день в джунгли пришла большая засуха*



*“Павел, намереваясь отправиться в следующий день, беседовал с ними ...*



*Маяковский. Следующий день. — 1955*



*Порки 2: На следующий день - скачать бесплатно*



*Землетрясение в Японии: на следующий день | ФОТО НОВОСТИ*



*На следующий день после встречи в Казани в Баку состоится ...*
http://www.google.com/search?q=в+сл...=ivns&ei=JuMFTvrrJ9H1gAeizaDkDQ&start=10&sa=N


----------



## morzh

Notice "на следующий" being a result of the search for "в следующий".
Anywhere in the text "в" will appear, and it is good enough for Google to give you.

Now, if you look for "в следующий день" with the quotes, it will be 25,000,000 results


----------



## eni8ma

morzh said:


> Notice "на следующий" being a result of the search for "в следующий".
> Anywhere in the text "в" will appear, and it is good enough for Google to give you.
> Now, if you look for "в следующий день" with the quotes, it will be 25,000,000 results


I don't know what search engine you are using, but google.com gives me over 64 million results - with the quotes - I do know how to use a search engine  Yes, the first few are just dictionaries and forums; but not all 64 million.


----------



## morzh

eni8ma said:


> I don't know what search engine you are using,




Google, of course. There are no other good comparable SE around that I know of.

This is the capture of my search.


----------



## morzh

Improved image.


----------



## Maroseika

eni8ma said:


> I don't know what search engine you are using, but google.com gives me over 64 million results - with the quotes - I do know how to use a search engine  Yes, the first few are just dictionaries and forums; but not all 64 million.



First of all, not 64 mln, but only 25. Also too many? Let's not hurry.
Some of these 25 mln are like that:  
- пропуск в следующий день
- вера в следующий день
- перескочить в следующий день
Many others are from the very old texts (we already know it was really used beofre the 20th century).
How many remain? I don't know actually, but just note this half million.


----------



## eni8ma

O ye of little faith - I do not lie, nor stretch the truth, and I do know how to search on Google 



Have you heard of the filter bubble? It is fairly recent that google now filters search results for each and every computer. This means that if you search from a computer in another building the results will be different (or so I have read).  Certainly the results are different from country to country. Why does Russia and the US get so many fewer results? I don't work for Google, so I don't know. They do call Australia the Lucky Country


----------



## morzh

eni8ma said:


> I do not understand the point you are making.  Someone said that you "never" use в следующий день.



No, no one said that.

It is not used in the "during the next day" or similar meanings, but it is used otherwise.

Пропуск в следующий день - The pass to the next day (permit o pass, that is) - should use "в" and cannot use "на".

Or "Войди в следующий день" (Enter tomorrow).


----------



## dePrades

elemika said:


> Very long thread!
> “Следующий день “should behave like “последующий день” (as in the case of  month, year)  but it doesn’t:
> B первый день примите две таблетки, *в* последующий день  - одну  таблетку.
> В первый день примите две таблетки, а  *на* следующий  день примите только одну.
> 
> The trick is that when we say «завтра» we mean «в следующий за сегодняшним день” and we usually don’t use “в следующий день” (next to today):
> Он приезжает завтра.
> Он приедет завтра.
> 
> And we say «*на* следующий день» when the starting point other than “today” (= *в* последующий день, назавтра):
> Сегодня примите две таблетки, а завтра одну.
> В первый день примите две таблетки, а _на следующий день (в последующий день, назавтра)_ – одну.
> 
> Also in the past: we can’t say «он приехал завтра» but:
> Он приехал на следующий день/  Он приехал назавтра/ Он приехал в последующий день
> 
> The same rule functions with Следующий год and Следующий месяц in the past:
> Он поступает в институт в следующем году / в следующем месяце
> But:


</p> 
Thanks elemika... I think your post has enlightened me! The "problem" is with следующий... I have to take into account that this adjective (when referring to a point in the time other than today) affects prepositions and collocates with на, preferably, even though there are some exceptions like the ones pointed by Maroseika:- пропуск в следующий день- вера в следующий день- перескочить в следующий деньJust another question... Why does it collocate with accusative in the sentence below?


elemika said:


> Он не поступил в институт и *на* следующий год (и *в* последующем году) / и *на* следующий месяц (и *в* последующем месяце).


The verb doesn't ask for the accusative (Он поступает в институт в следующем году / в следующем месяце ) and we say: на этой неделе / на прошлой неделе / на следующей неделе; в последующую неделю... usually месяц and год go in the structure в + prepositive. So why is this sentence in accusative?


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## morzh

eni8ma said:


> Well, yes, they did ...
> 
> 
> And so they are using в - It was Maroseika who provided the examples.
> 
> 
> I have no idea what point you are both making about this.




I will repeat (for those inside the tank) 

It can be used in the sense OTHER THAN initially discussed in this topic.

Those who said "It cannot be used at all" - probably got sucked in the discussion and forgot about the other meanings. Just pay attention to what we said recently.

It CAN BE USED in expressions like "пропуск в завтра / в следующий день" (have to admit - "завтра" will be used in most cases, not "следующий день", but still.....)

But it cannot be used in "на следующий день (назавтра) я пошел в школу" (that is for something that happens the next day).

PS> BTW note that "Назавтра" is spelled together, not separate.


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## Natalisha

eni8ma said:


> Well, yes, they did ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Natalisha said:
> 
> 
> 
> No, you can't say 'в следующий день'.
Click to expand...

Eni8ma, do you remember dePrades'  question? 


dePrades said:


> My Russian teacher wrote this sentence in an e-mail and I'm confused again... "вы можете прийти в тот же день или на следующий день"... Why is it "на следующий день с 10.00 до 12.00"? Would it be possible (according to eni8ma's link it would) to say "в следующий день"? Is there any difference in meaning? Thanks in advance!


 
I can repeat myself if you wish. Answering the question *Когда ... ?* (When ... ?) you should say 'в следующий раз', 'в следующий вторник', 'в следующем месяце', 'в следующем году' but 'на следующий день'.


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## Sobakus

eni8ma said:


> Otherwise, use:
> - в следующий день - for a "place" in time (usually with perfective aspect)
> - на следующий день - for duration (with imperfective - progressive)





eni8ma said:


> In the page on time expressions, it says that duration can be на+ accusative for certain conditions, such as when the verb is imperfective. поступать is imperfective, thus described progressive action, hence duration.
> 
> He did not enter college _*during*_ the following ....



No, it's exactly the other way 'round. To stress the duration you use в+what seems to be former Locative (в следующем году/месяце), while referring to a point in time you use на+Accusative. Неделя is an exception, as was mentioned earlier.

However, when in на+Accusative "на" is stressed, it refers to duration:
*уехал на день/год*
The stress moves to the noun if there's anything inbetween or if the noun has more than 1 syllable, but the meaning remains. In these cases you can't put в instead of на at all, so that's not a big problem:
*уехал в день/год* is gibberish, "he left per day", or "he rode off into the day"
When в and на are interchangeable, the first refers to duration an the second - to a point in time.

About или в следующий день, it's doesn't have anything to do with или, it's just that in the sense where или can be used "в следующий день" can't.
*Он уехал в тот или на следующий день* - he left that day or the next
*Он уехал в следующий день* - he rode off into the next day
You don't often have a choice of riding off into different days.

edit:there's also "уехал в том году/в прошлом месяце/на той неделе" etc, they just use в or на and that's all


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## Natalisha

eni8ma said:


> I do not understand you at all.
> 
> I simply posted some results to show that "в следующий день" is a commonly used phrase (since two people had said it was wrong to use it at all).


No, dear eni8ma, nobody said that. 


> Just why are you jumping on me? and I suppose that referring to me as being "in a tank" is an insult?


It's a joke. Take it easy.


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## morzh

eni8ma said:


> I was referring to dePrades question.
> 
> Since the first response was
> dePrades responded with
> ... hence my clarification that в следующий день was fine in other contexts - but not after или.
> 
> Then I (foolishly) posted some Google results to support that statement, and since then everybody and his dog has been telling me I have no idea what I am talking about.




En8ma, my dear fellow,

No one insults you here, everyone likes you here (though I can only speak for myself, but so far I do not sense any animosities towards you) but:

Sometimes (meaning 90% of your posts)  you are being just too detailed and you eventually complicate the living hell out of the simplest of questions. Have you noticed the trend yet? I think you have as you actually admitted that yourself in another thread.
You sometimes have to let go.
We here are going 2nd or 3rd circle answering the same thing and clarifying the murkiness you yourself are creating.

And, yes, we are getting sucked into it sometimes, just I guess because of the momentum developed. 

Let's not complicate things, let alone accuse people of kicking you were they actually are trying to be helpful.


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## Sobakus

eni8ma said:


> Then I (foolishly) posted some Google results to support that statement, and since then everybody and his dog has been telling me I have no idea what I am talking about.



It's because such usage is VERY specific, is not used in everyday language and confuses the learner. I'm actually very suprised to see all these google results because all of them except for a few poetic usages in the sense of "into" and expressions like "в следующий день Молодёжи" (referring to a holiday) are MISTAKES! And a huge lot of mistakes that is!


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## dePrades

Sobakus said:


> No, it's exactly the other way 'round. To stress the duration you use в+what seems to be former Locative (в следующем году/месяце), while referring to a point in time you use на+Accusative. Неделя is an exception, as was mentioned earlier.
> 
> However, when in на+Accusative &quot;на&quot; is stressed, it refers to duration:
> *уехал на день/год*


</p> 
How would it be linked to the difference between "Он поступает в институт в следующем году" and "Он не поступил в институт и на следующий год"? I would say that the former is a point in time (one day next year) and the later refers to duration (not in the following year)? Any help about that? Thanks a lot again to all of you trying to help me to get something clear from it


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## Sobakus

dePrades said:


> </p>
> How would it be linked to the difference between "Он поступает в институт в следующем году" and "Он не поступил в институт и на следующий год"? I would say that the former is a point in time (one day next year) and the later refers to duration (not in the following year)? Any help about that? Thanks a lot again to all of you trying to help me to get something clear from it



Он поступает в институт в следующем году pretty much means that sometime in the course of the next year he's going to enter a university. The year is viewed as a time period.
Он не поступил в институт и на следующий год = the next year he still didn't enter it. No prepositions in English here, it's like a single adverb of time with the meaning of a point in time, even if it's as long as a year.


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## viesis

dePrades said:


> </p>
> How would it be linked to the difference between "Он поступает в институт в следующем году" and "Он не поступил в институт и на следующий год"? I would say that the former is a point in time (one day next year) and the later refers to duration (not in the following year)? Any help about that? Thanks a lot again to all of you trying to help me to get something clear from it


The difference how I feel it:
1. "Он поступает в институт в следующем году". Just statement not necessarily connected with anything that was said before. And here, yes, a point in time is meant (some time next year). 
2. "Он не поступил в институт и на следующий год". There is some story behind this phrase. It is from some narrative about some events in the past. "на следующий год" emphasizes that he tried again but failed. Also, "на следующий год" is preferable because the action is in the past. "Он не поступил в институт и в следующем году" is also possible, but I think it may give way to some confusion. 'Cause when I hear "в следующем году", I automatically think "next year from now" like in the direct speech. So IMHO "Он не поступил в институт и в следующем году" is an example of loose, inconsistent speech, which nevertheless can be heard quite often.


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## dePrades

Understood... but why на следующий год (на + acc.)? and not  на следующем году (на + prep.)? Can I say that "на + period of time" always take accusative except with неделя (на неделе)?


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## morzh

Well....because. Because it is "на следующий год".


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## Maroseika

dePrades said:


> Understood... but why на следующий год (на + acc.)? and not  на следующем году (на + prep.)? Can I say that "на + period of time" always take accusative except with неделя (на неделе)?


Specialists in the historical grammatics would be able to answer you. Maybe. But I don't think it is possible to explain this only basing on the logic of the language how we can understand it now.

На следующем году is possible only like this:
На следующем году жизни ребенок начинает лепетать, затем говорить отдельные слова.


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## viesis

dePrades said:


> Understood... but why на следующий год (на + acc.)? and not  на следующем году (на + prep.)?


Well, "на следующем году" is possible, but not in this context. Why this or that is possible or not possible is a topic for linguistic research or a dissertation. One has to read a bunch of books on linguistics in order to answer this question.


dePrades said:


> Can I say that "на + period of time" always take accusative except with неделя (на неделе)?


No, you can't. Because it's not only "неделя" that prep. can be used with. "на секунде", "на минуте", "на месяце", "на году", "на десятилетии", "на веку" are also possible.


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## eni8ma

dePrades said:


> Understood... but why на следующий год (на + acc.)? and not  на следующем году (на + prep.)?


dePrades - please re-read the page on Time Expressions. на + acc is explained there


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## dePrades

eni8ma re-read! And I'll let this topic have a rest... I think that I got some ideas that I have to put in order and try to go on with them... until &quot;the rules&quot; crash again with a sentence I read somewhere... but all of you have been very helpful. My aim is not write a dissertation but to try to understand Russian language in order to produce &quot;correct sentences&quot;... if I never get to understand it, I'll be able to write not a dissertation, but a whole book!!  of course all of you will be in the acknowledgements chapter


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