Thread: Quick Case Question

I saw this in some Turganev Literature I was reading

По возращении в деревню бумистр нас посмотреть веялку.

I understand the sentence is about a bailiff showing us the winnowing machine,

But this use of "по + case unknown" is thoroughly confusing me,

Could anyone shed some light?

По возвращении в деревню бурмистр нас посмотреть веялку.

Doesn't make sense. I assume a verb is missing

I think it must have been something like that

По возвращении в деревню бурмистр отправил нас посмотреть веялку

As for по возвращение it means

Upon returning or kind of like that

Originally Posted by Gottimhimmel

But this use of "по + case unknown" is thoroughly confusing me

The case is prepositional. По + prepositional case means upon ‹some event›. This case government of the preposition по is almost obsolete. In colloquial speech, it is supplanted now by по + diative (e.g. «по возвращению в деревню»), but the latter is not normative for now.

большое спасибо тебе обоих

In colloquial speech, it is supplanted now by по + dative (e.g. «по возвращению в деревню»),

Couldn't you also argue that it can be supplanted by после + genitive? (e.g. «после возвращения в деревню», "after returning to the village")

In any case, here's another familiar example of по + prepositional:

Цыплят по осени считают!

Literally, "[They] count the baby chicks after autumn." -- i.e., "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched."

Here, осени is prepositional sg. and цыплят is animate accusative pl.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Couldn't you also argue that it can be supplanted by после + genitive? (e.g. «после возвращения в деревню», "after returning to the village").

Undoubtedly. После + genitive is even more frequent variant.

Actual quote, with missed verb.

По возвращении в деревню бурмистр повел нас посмотреть веялку, недавно выписанную им из Москвы

Бурмистр. Из цикла "Записки охотника". И.С. Тургенев.

Originally Posted by Gottimhimmel

большое спасибо тебе обоих

Большое спасибо вам обоим. (Спасибо requires Dative) And it should be plural (вам, not тебе)