In Russian, we often form adverbsNo definition set for adverbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of time (e.g. “now”) and adverbs of frequency (e.g. “often”) from adjectivesNo definition set for adjectivesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or nounsNo definition set for nounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., often by adding prefixesNo definition set for prefixesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or suffixesNo definition set for suffixesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. Here are some basic examples:
частый[CHAStyi](frequent) → часто[CHASta](frequently)
дневной[dnivNOY](day) → ежедневно[yezhiDNYEVna](daily)
утро[OOTra](morning) → утром[OOTram](in the morning)
начало[naCHALa](beginning) → сначала[snaCHAla](from the beginning)
In this article, we’ll talk about what adverbs of time and frequency are, then we’ll take you through the main ways such adverbs are formed in Russian. Ready to have a look? Let’s go!
Broadly, adverbs of time describe when something took place, while adverbs of frequency describe how often it took place. Adverbs of time might also sometimes answer questions like “since when,” or “until when.”
Like almost all adverbs in Russian, adverbs of time and frequency are mostly derived from nouns, adjectives, verbs, or numerals.
Some adverbs of time and frequency were formed by combining two different words, in ways that are not completely predictable:
cейчас[siCHAS](now) ⇒ сей[syey](this) + час[chas](hour)
завтра[ZAFTra](tomorrow) ⇒ за[za](after) + утро[OOTra](morning)
сразу[SRAzoo](immediately) ⇒ c[s](from) + раз[ras](one)
However, there are several other common patterns that you’ll see repeated in several adverbs of time and frequency. Let’s have a look!
Adding -o[o] is the most common way to turn a Russian adjective into an adverb, it’s like adding “-ly” in English. Therefore, many Russian adverbs of time and frequency use this ending. Here’s how to do it:
Start with an adjective with a meaning related to time or frequency
Cut off the adjective ending
Add -o
And that’s it! You have an adverb of time or frequency! For example:
Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
частый CHAStyi frequent | часто CHASta often, frequently |
обычный aBYchnyi usual | обычно aBYchna usually |
постоянный pastaYAnyi constant, regular | постоянно pastaYAna constantly, regularly |
скорый SKOryi quick | скоро SKOra quickly, soon |
давний DAVniy old, long-term | давно davNO a long time ago, for a long time |
ранний RAniy early → as in “early morning” | рано RAna early → as in “arrived early” |
поздний POZniy late → as in “late morning” | поздно POzna late → as in “arrived late” |
To form an adverb of frequency meaning “every minute/day/week/…” you will want to add both the prefix еже-[yezhe] and the suffix -o[o] to a noun representing a time. As we saw above, you will need to remove the noun ending from the base noun. Follow the formula below:
noun
дневной → ежедневнo
dnivNOY → yezhiDNYEVna
day → daily
Я ежеминутнo обновлял страницу.
ya yezhimiNOOTna abnavLYAL straNEEtsoo
I refreshed the page every minute.
However, you can’t do this with every time noun. Here is the full list of such adverbs:
ежесекундно[yezhisiKOONDna](every second)
ежеминутно[yezhimiNOOTna](every minute)
ежедневно[yezhiDNYEVna](daily)
ежевечерне[yezhiviCHERnye](every evening) → old-fashioned
еженощно[yezhiNOSHCHna](every night) → old-fashioned
ежесуточно[yezhiSOOtachna](every 24 hours)
еженедельно[yezhiniDYELna](every week)
ежемесячно[yezhiMYEsichna](every month)
ежеквартально[yezhikvarTALna](every quarter)
ежегодно[yezhiGODna](every year)
You can always use a phrase with the structure below instead of an adverb with еже-:
каждый
KAZHdyi
every
noun
accusative case
еженедельно = каждую неделю
yezhiniDYELna = KAZHdooyu niDYElyu
weekly = every week
ежегодно = каждый год
yezhiGODna = KAZHdyi got
yearly = every year
Check out our post on the accusative case of time in Russian to learn more about phrases like this!
The suffix -жды[zhdy] can be added to a few numerals to form adverbs showing how many times something happened. There are only four such adverbs in Russian:
однажды
adNAzhdy
once
дважды
DVAzhdy
twice
трижды
TREEzhdy
three times
четырежды
chiTYrizhdy
four times
Here is an example of how they can be used:
Я трижды был в Москве, но только однажды на Красной площади.
ya TREEzhdy byl v maskVYE no TOLka adNAzhdy na KRASnay PLOshchidi
I’ve been to Moscow three times, but only once to Red Square.
In Russian, you can use nouns for times of day (e.g. “morning”) or seasons (e.g. “winter”) in the instrumental case as adverbs of time. As long as you use the instrumental case, no other ending is required!
Instrumental case for adverbs of time | |
|---|---|
Part of the day | Season |
утром[OOTram](in the morning) | зимой[ziMOY](in winter) |
днём [dnyom](in the afternoon) | весной[visNOY](in spring) |
вечером [VYEchiram](in the evening) | летом [LYEtam](in summer) |
ночью[NOCHyu](at night) | осенью[OSinyu](in fall) |
Adverbs describing duration also come from nouns in instrumental, but in plural as they imply “many” hours / days / weeks etc.:
Они могли годами не видеться, но оставаться лучшими друзьями.
aNEE magLEE gaDAmi nye VEEditsa no astaVAtsa LOOCHshymi droozYAmi
They could not see each other for years, and still remain best friends.
Он целыми днями играет в компьютерные игры.
on TSElymi DNYAmi igRAyet f kampYUtarnyie EEGry
He plays computer games for days on end.
A lot of adverbs of time and frequency were originally prepositional phrases composed of a preposition + a noun. In these phrases, the noun still takes the appropriate case for the preposition in question. For example:
c[s](from, since) + genitive
These adverbs generally answer the question “since when?”, but some of them stepped away from that original meaning, for example:
снова
SNOva
again
lit. from anew
сначала
snaCHAla
from/at the beginning
с детства
z DYETStva
since childhood
срода
SROdoo
never
lit. since birth
до[da](until) + genitive
These adverbs generally mean “until a certain time”, for example:
дотемна
datimNA
until it gets dark
до сих пор
da sikh POR
until now
lit. until this time
допоздна
dapazNA
until it gets late
из[is](from) + genitive
издавна
EEZdavna
since olden times,
for a long time
изредка
EEZritka
seldom
We have looked at some popular patterns of building adverbs of time that can help you memorize them more easily, or even make one when you need it. They include:
Adverbs of time and frequency with suffixes -o and -жды
Adverbs of frequency with prefix еже-
Adverbs of time originating from nouns in instrumental
Adverbs of time originating from prepositional phrases
Ready for some practice? Download the Russian adverbs of time activities below! Happy learning!
