Telling the time, the seven days, and the twelve Belarusian month names that still describe the farming year - plus the two false friends that catch every Russian speaker: нядзеля and гадзіна.
I can say what day and month it is, tell the time, and arrange to meet someone at a particular hour.
Подивіться на ці приклади. Чи можете ви помітити граматичну закономірність?
У нядзелю мы едзем да бабулі.
On Sunday we are going to Grandma's.
Праз тыдзень пачынаецца жнівень.
In a week August begins.
Колькі часу? — Палова пятай.
What time is it? - Half past four.
У кастрычніку ў Белавежы вельмі прыгожа.
In October the Bielaviezha forest is very beautiful.
Зверніть увагу на виділені частини. Що у них спільного?
| Belarusian | English | Where the name comes from |
|---|---|---|
| панядзелак | Monday | after (па) the day of rest |
| аўторак | Tuesday | the second |
| серада | Wednesday | the middle |
| чацвер | Thursday | the fourth |
| пятніца | Friday | the fifth |
| субота | Saturday | from Sabbath |
| нядзеля | Sunday | the day of not-doing |
To say on a day, use у with the accusative: у панядзелак, у сераду, у нядзелю. The week itself is тыдзень.
Belarusian kept its own month names instead of borrowing the Latin ones, and almost every name still describes what was happening in the fields or the weather:
| Month | Belarusian | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| January | студзень | the cold one |
| February | люты | the fierce one |
| March | сакавік | when the sap runs |
| April | красавік | when things come into flower |
| May | май | the one borrowed name |
| June | чэрвень | from the red dye insect gathered then |
| July | ліпень | when the lime trees flower |
| August | жнівень | the reaping month |
| September | верасень | when the heather is out |
| October | кастрычнік | from the woody chaff of broken flax |
| November | лістапад | leaf-fall |
| December | снежань | the snow month |
The question is Колькі часу? or Каторая гадзіна? An hour is a гадзіна, and the count follows the numeral rules: адна гадзіна, дзве гадзіны, пяць гадзін. Minutes are хвіліны.
English names the days after gods and the months after Roman emperors and numbers; Belarusian names them after the weather and the work. That makes the month names harder to guess but much easier to remember once you know what they mean.
Застосуйте цю граматику у вправах курсу A1
Вправи для практикиTypical errors: expecting Latin month names and being unable to place кастрычнік or жнівень; and forgetting that the numeral rules apply to hours as well (дзве гадзіны, пяць гадзін).
Error with Час і дні тыдня
Review Час і дні тыдня.
У нядзелю мы едзем да бабулі.
On Sunday we are going to Grandma's.
<em>Нядзеля</em> is Sunday, not the week. And <em>да</em> plus the genitive where English says <em>to</em>.
Праз тыдзень пачынаецца жнівень.
In a week August begins.
<em>Тыдзень</em> is the week and <em>жнівень</em> is August, the reaping month.
Колькі часу? — Палова пятай.
What time is it? - Half past four.
<em>Час</em> here means time in general. <em>Палова пятай</em> counts towards the coming hour, not back from the last one.
У кастрычніку ў Белавежы вельмі прыгожа.
In October the Bielaviezha forest is very beautiful.
<em>Кастрычнік</em> is October, named after the woody chaff left when flax is broken - a reminder of how much of the calendar came out of the linen year.
Сустрэнемся ў сераду а сёмай гадзіне.
Let's meet on Wednesday at seven o'clock.
<em>У сераду</em> for the day, and <em>а сёмай гадзіне</em> for the hour - the preposition <em>а</em> is used for clock times.
Практикувати в курсі
Застосуйте цю граматику у вправах курсу A1