There are three ways to ask “When?” in Russian if you are referring to the time of day, and they are «Когда?» “When?”, «Во сколько?» “At what time?”, and «В котором часу?» “In which hour?”. «Когда?» is the most common, followed by «Во сколько?» and although «В котором часу?» is perfectly grammatical, it is slowly becoming less common nowadays.

When answering these questions, Russian again uses quite a few different constructions, just as it does when answering the question “What time is it?” Specifically one has to distinguish when something happens:

• right on the hour, or
• at a quarter after the hour, or
• at a quarter to the hour, or
• at half past the hour, or
• at a particular minute during the first half of the hour, or
• at a particular mintue during the second half of the hour, or
• generically somewhere between one hour or another.

Over the next couple of weeks we will explore the details of those constructions.

Other entries dealing with time are soon to come. Look for them under the categories "Time phrases" and "What time is it" and "At what time."

To say "It is five minutes to two," a Russian literally says "It is now without five two." The word for “without” is без, which is a preposition that governs the genitive case. The "minute" words are often left out, but not necessarily so. When speaking of the minutes to one o'clock, they usually leave the number "one" out and simply say "hour." Examples:

When speaking of minutes till the rest of the hours, they usually leave out the forms of the word "hour." For example:

Other entries dealing with time are soon to come. Look for them under the categories "Time phrases" and "What time is it" and "At what time."

To the Russian way of thinking, the first hour of the day is made up of the first sixty minutes from midnight to one o'clock (but not including one o'clock). The second hour is from one to just before two. Therefore when saying "It is now 12:01" in Russian you literally say "It is now one minute of the first." For example:

Notice particularly the forms of минута after одна, две, три and четыре.

Other examples:

Other entries dealing with time are soon to come. Look for them under the categories "Time phrases" and "What time is it" and "At what time."

To say that it is quarter till the hour you use the word for quarter which is четверть. 1:45 in Russian comes out «без четверти два», literally “without a quarter two.” The preposition без takes the genitive case, and четверть is a feminine third declension noun, thus the и ending. Here is a complete listing of times at a quarter to the hour as expressed with четверть.

Other entries dealing with time are soon to come. Look for them under the categories "Time phrases" and "What time is it" and "At what time."

The Russian word for New Year is Новый год. New Year's is a time when friends and family come together to mark the beginning of a new and exciting year. Because many Russians celebrate Christmas on January 7th, there is no need to buy a Christmas tree earlier in the month of December декабрь. So, many people buy and decorate the Christmas tree on New Year's Eve. Many Russian families enjoy gathering with large crowds on New Year's Eve to enjoy special food and drinks. For most Russians, singing around the dinner table and dancing are two important components of a New Year's Eve party.

Last year my family decided to make a New Year's party at my house. We live in a quiet neighborhood, and I had to ask all of our neighbors for permission to play loud music late into the night. My parents invited a few of our Russian friends and they all arrived with tasty dishes and fine wines. As my friend arrived, she said «С Новым годом, Оля! Ты выглядишь очень красиво» “Happy New year Olga! You look very pretty.” Me and my friend were both very excited because one of my parent’s friends had a very handsome son and we both wanted to dance with him that night. As he came inside, I whispered to my friend «Саша такой симпатичный! Я первая буду с ним танцевать!» “Sasha is so cute! I will dance with him first!”. Everyone had a good time that night including me and my girlfriend because we both had a chance to dance with Sasha.

«Я хочу поздравить всех с Новым годом!» “I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!”

Don's additional comment: notice that in Russian only the first word of Новый год is capitalized, not the second.