Seasons and Parts of the Day

Level 2Sounds Like pary goda í sutak u tvornym

Зімой (in winter), летам (in summer), раніцай (in the morning), увечары (in the evening): no preposition is needed.

How It Works

Seasons and parts of the day. The first form is the instrumental. The second is an adverb with the same meaning.

  • вясна (spring) → вясной (вясною), увесну
  • лета (summer) → летам, улетку
  • восень (autumn) → восенню, увосень
  • зіма (winter) → зімой (зімою), узімку
  • раніца (morning) → раніцай (раніцаю), уранку, зранку
  • дзень (day) → днём, удзень
  • вечар (evening) → вечарам, увечары
  • ноч (night) → ноччу, уначы

The endings are the ordinary instrumental ones from instrumental endings. The longer forms in -ою and -аю mean the same thing. Восень and ноч double their last consonant: восенню, ноччу. See doubled consonants in the instrumental.

With today and yesterday. Combine them freely: сёння раніцай (this morning), учора ўвечары (yesterday evening), заўтра ўранку (tomorrow morning). After a vowel, the у of the adverb is written ў.

Every evening. The instrumental plural describes a habit: Вечарамі мы чытаем (In the evenings we read).

Compare the other time words: months take у + locative (у студзені) and days take у + accusative (у пятніцу).

Examples (6)

  1. Зімой тут шмат снегу.

    There is a lot of snow here in winter.

    Word by Word: In-winter here much snow.

  2. Летам мы жывём на вёсцы.

    In summer we live in the countryside.

    Word by Word: In-summer we live in village.

  3. Раніцай я п'ю каву.

    In the morning I drink coffee.

    Word by Word: In-morning I drink coffee.

  4. Учора ўвечары мы глядзелі фільм.

    Yesterday evening we watched a film.

    Word by Word: Yesterday in-evening we watched film.

  5. Восенню лісце жаўцее.

    In autumn the leaves turn yellow.

    Word by Word: In-autumn leaves yellows.

    Восень is feminine, so its instrumental is восенню, with a double н.

  6. Уначы было вельмі ціха.

    It was very quiet at night.

    Word by Word: At-night was very quiet.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding у and the locative, as English in suggests.

    У зіме я катаюся на лыжах.
    Зімой я катаюся на лыжах.

    Seasons take the plain instrumental with no preposition.

  • Giving восень a masculine instrumental ending.

    Восенем мы збіраем грыбы.
    Восенню мы збіраем грыбы.

    Восень is a feminine noun ending in a soft consonant. Its instrumental is восенню.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Seasons and Parts of the DayLevel 2

Learn This First

Seasons need instrumental endings.

Words in This Pattern

увечарыуначызімалета