Breakdown of Святая церковь находится рядом.
находиться
to be located
рядом
nearby
церковь
the church
святой
holy; saintly
Questions & Answers about Святая церковь находится рядом.
Why does святая end in -ая?
Because it is a feminine singular nominative adjective, and it agrees with церковь, which is a feminine singular noun.
In Russian, adjectives change form to match the noun they describe in:
- gender
- number
- case
Here:
- церковь = feminine, singular, nominative
- so святой changes to святая
A few related forms of the same adjective are:
- святой храм = a holy church/temple (masculine)
- святая церковь = a holy church (feminine)
- святое место = a holy place (neuter)
- святые места = holy places (plural)
How do I know that церковь is feminine?
A very common clue is that many Russian nouns ending in -ь are either masculine or feminine, so you have to learn their gender individually. Церковь happens to be feminine.
You can also tell from agreement:
- святая церковь uses the feminine adjective form святая
- that confirms the noun is feminine
Its nominative singular form is:
- церковь
Some other forms are:
- церкви
- церковью
So this is a noun whose gender is not obvious from the ending alone and is best memorized with its adjective agreement.
What case are the words in here?