"Мама ходила на работу."

Translation: Mom was going to work.

[ramin1981]

"Mom went to work" - is also a correct answer

[wyqtor]

'Mom was going to work' rejected. It should be fine I think.

[ZezeFortun]

In fact this is the accepted answer today 11/11/2019.

[Matrix2913]

But didn't go in the end?!? Wouldn't it need more precision?!?

[Alexmalaho]

It's about movement. Собиралась would be the intention.

[an_alias]

I'm not sure if this is a Duolingo problem or if I'm missing some subtlety here. My answer was "Mom has been at work" and it was marked wrong with "Mom has been to work." offered as the correct answer.

It may very well be, I'm just not certain why.

[sohlt]

Идти and ходить (мама шла/ мама ходила) belong to a particular set of verbs called the verbs of motion. English has the verb "to go" to convey the idea of travel (among other definitions). There is a large group, and I suggest googling "Russian verbs of motion." For this exercise, understanding that all verbs of motion come in pairs. These pairs convey whether or not the subject has gone from point A to point B or from point A to point B then back to A. In other words did the person come back or not. This is a strange distinction for English speakers, but it is very pertinent to the meaning of the sentence in Russian. The use of ходить (ходила - conjugated into the past tense and agreeing with a female subject) means that the subject made repeated regular trips to work in the past. I really suggest googling this and doing some research. Knowing a little theory in this subject helps.

[BenCostell3]

A multidirectional non-prefixed past tense verb (like ходила here) can also imply a single past round trip to and from. So if in context we know Mom is home, this sentence could answer "What did Mom do today? She looks exhausted?" "She went to work."

[jwbards]

I don't think the suggested English translation - Mom was going to work - is a good one if it's supposed to indicate "repeated and regular trips" ...

[clairelanc3]

That's why I thought "Mom used to go to work" was rather a good translation. But it was not accepted

[Alexmalaho]

I think it would be Мама раньше работала.

[markv0123]

I think it is because "Mom has been to work" conveys motion while "Mom has been at work" conveys where she has been stationary.

[Alexmalaho]

Yes, Mom has been at work means Мама была на работе.

[Choreygii]

Can this be "Mom used to go to work"?

[sohlt]

The verb is in the past imperfective. It is conveying habitual action in the past. Whether or not the action is still continuing is not conveyed in the sentence. It's a vague statement.

[Alex_Kinsey]

I don't think so, but I can't say for sure. In some other Slavic languages there is a distinct past form for the "used to" construct. I would think it will be similar in Russian. Need a native speaker to confirm, though

[Alexmalaho]

As a native speaker I'd translate it as Мама раньше ходила на работу.

[Boootyyy]

Isn't "mum has gone to work" acceptable? It's been rejected

[Alexmalaho]

This translates as Мама ушла на работу.

[susanashe]

'was going' doesn't make sense unless it leads into 'when something happened.'

[Jenna593944]

What case is this?

[daughterofAlbion]

работу is in accusative (because of motion towards)

[maximo653954]

As far as i know when we say мама ходила на работу we say that she went to work and came home. If we say мама пошла на работу we say she went to work and she is still there. Please check amazing Russian youtube chanel.

[orcj_77]

работу is in locative?

[GilbertBes]

Mum is apparently a typo

[AlexFromAus]

Why is на used instead of в?
I feel like I should know the answer, but it has been a long day lol

[CathyFranc6]

I think this is the answer:
'в' is generally used for a place you enter, and 'на' is used for outside-type places. I have a short list of places that take 'на' when you'd perhaps expect to use 'в': на заводу (to the factory), на консерту (to the concert), and of course на работу.

[Alexmalaho]

I guess you're right. Note: the right way to say на завод, на концерт.

But в театр, в музей, в кино, в бассейн.

[clairelanc3]

Z на завод

[MattinMaverick]

What about Мама ходила в работу?

[Alexmalaho]

Nope. It's always на.

[aosetinsky]

If "about work" is: о работе ;
why is, "to work" not в работе?
--- instead of в работу?

Wait, ..is it that 'about work' is genitive and 'to work' is dative?

[Alex_Kinsey]

About work should be in the prepositional Case. To work is in the accusative I think because of motion towards a place

[northernalberta]

I’m not seeing a distinction between verbs in the past that are completed vs. ongoing. In French I believe we called that “passé composé” and “imparfait”. In English there’s a difference between “mom was going to work” and “mom went to work” but both are accepted as translations here?

[Davidmapura]

I thought it was "Mom wanted at work". :O

[Yiannis49]

I'm confused why it's холидна here. Does it mean she was going and intended to come back after?

[Alexmalaho]

It means she was there. I wonder why they used progressive tense.

[Wentris]

mother went to job - i think this is better

[Dave168907]

No, you would have to use "Mother went to her job".