Thread: Expressing was and were question

We just learned the past test in my Russian language class today. I'm trying to do my homework.

I need to say in Russian, "We were at the cafe."

Cafe doesn't decline right? Is this correct?

Мы были в кафе.

Thanks!

That sounds perfectly fine to me.

Maybe you can say

Мы были на кафе.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Maybe you can say

Мы были на кафе.

Oh, no, you can't. It means something like "We were sitting on the roof of a cafe"

P.S. Tell me in exchange, whether I put the articles before "roof" and "cafe" right or not

You're cool (with the articles)

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

You're cool (with the articles)

Oh, so fast! Thank you!

Originally Posted by pranki

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Maybe you can say

Мы были на кафе.

Oh, no, you can't. It means something like "We were sitting on the roof of a cafe"

LOL. I thought that you could use "на" meaning that you are "at the cafe" as opposed to "inside the cafe". "at the cafe" can mean you were waiting outside by the front door or sitting at the tables outside the cafe.
"на почте" = "at the post office"
"на лекций" = "at the lecture"
"иа заводе" = "at the factory"

Originally Posted by pranki

"We were sitting on the roof of a cafe"

P.S. Tell me in exchange, whether I put the articles before "roof" and "cafe" right or not

Yes, you sentence is perfect. But if you were sitting on the roof of a particular cafe, you would say "We were sitting on the roof of the cafe".

Do these work?
Мы были у кафе. We were by the caf

[quote=basurero]Do these work?
Мы были у кафе. We were by the caf

[quote=basurero]Do these work?
Мы были у кафе. We were by the caf

Originally Posted by MikeM

2. Мы были вне кафе sounds like a mathematician talking about a set not being a subset of another set :) It is better to say мы были снаружи кафе

снаружи кафе sounds not much better to me :)
Depending on context I'd say "у кафе", "рядом с кафе" etc.