Thread: долго v. давно

Hello,

I have a question: What's the difference between долго and давно? In my dictionary it says they both mean "a long time" but for the former, "a long time ago" is also given. I don't quite understand this though. Could someone give examples, along with an English translation?

Thanks!!

долго - a long time. To walk for a long time - идти долго
давно - a long time ago. She died a long time ago - она умерла давно

you can not say "она умерла долго" - she died a long time... no sense whatsoever!

Болшьое спасибо!

Thank you so much...I just found this resource and it is a great help with learning the language. Special thanks to all you fluent Russian speakers who so willingly help us newbies out! I really do appreciate it.

Time to change my flashcards

Originally Posted by cepo

Большое спасибо!

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

долго - a long time. To walk for a long time - идти долго
давно - a long time ago. She died a long time ago - она умерла давно

you can not say "она умерла долго" - she died a long time... no sense whatsoever!

There are two meanings for "давно". The first one is "a long time ago", but the second is "for a long time".

E.g. "Я тебя давно здесь жду" means "I'm waiting for you for a long time here".

Originally Posted by Guin

E.g. "Я тебя давно здесь жду" means "I'm waiting for you for a long time here".

It is the same meaning:
"I had started waiting for you for a long time ago here"

Originally Posted by Wowik

Originally Posted by Guin

E.g. "Я тебя давно здесь жду" means "I'm waiting for you for a long time here".

It is the same meaning:
"I had started waiting for you for a long time ago here"

It is not the same meaning, IMHO. The difference between these two usages of "давно" is the same as between "long time ago" and "for a long time" in English.

Originally Posted by Guin

It is not the same meaning, INHO. The difference between these two usages of "давно" is the same as between "long time ago" and "for a long time" in English.

Давно - момент времени
Долго - интервал времени

Я давно жду = Я давно начал ждать (и жду до сих пор)
Здесь давно - момент времени.
Но переводить можно, конечно, и как
Я долго жду
Но смысл немного меняется.