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Thread: долго v. давно

  1. #1
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    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!!

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    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!
    Hei, rett norsken min og du er død.
    I am a notourriouse misspeller. Be easy on me.
    Пожалуйста! Исправляйте мои глупые ошибки (но оставьте умные)!
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    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

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    Quote Originally Posted by cepo
    Большое спасибо!

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    Quote 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".
    Could you please occasionally correct my stupid errors!
    Korrigiert bitte ab und zu meine dummen Fehler!

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    Quote 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"

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wowik
    Quote 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.
    Could you please occasionally correct my stupid errors!
    Korrigiert bitte ab und zu meine dummen Fehler!

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    Quote 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.

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