Долго
The word долго means “for a long time,” but it's not the same as давно. Now here is a subtle bit. If an activity has been going on for a long time, but you don't really think of it in terms of starting “a long time ago,” then you use долго instead of давно:
| Мы с братом долго говорили о его новой квартире. | My brother and I talked about his new apartment for a long time. |
| Мы будем долго работать в Архангельске. | We are going to be working in Arkhangelsk for a long time. |
| Приходится сегодня вечером долго учиться. Завтра будет экзамен, и я абсолютно ничего не знаю. | I'll have to study for a long time this evening. Tomorrow is the exam, and I know absolutely nothing. |
Some people will sloppily translate a sentence like «Мы долго ехали из Москвы во Владивосток» word for word as “We were riding from Moscow to Vladivostok for a long time,” but it's better to paraphrase the sentence thus: “It took a long time to go from Moscow to Vladivostok.” Other examples:
| Мы долго строили дом. | It took us a long time to build the house. |
| Мы долго будем разбираться в этой ситуации. | It will take us a long time to figure out this situation. |
It's possible to find долго and давно in similar-looking past tense sentences, but their meanings are quite distinct:
| Мы давно жили в Москве. | We lived in Moscow a long time ago. |
| Мы долго жили в Москве. | We lived in Moscow for a long time. |
| Витя давно служил на подводной лодке. | Victor served on a submarine a long time ago. |
| Витя долго служил на подводной лодке. | Victor served on a submarine for a long time. |
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