Breakdown of Моя машина стояла перед домом.
дом
the house
мой
my
машина
the car
стоять
to stand
перед
in front of
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Questions & Answers about Моя машина стояла перед домом.
Why is the possessive pronoun моя used instead of мой?
In Russian, possessive pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Since машина is a feminine singular noun, the appropriate form is моя rather than мой, which is used for masculine nouns.
What does the verb стояла mean, and why is it in that specific form?
Стояла is the past tense form of the verb стоять (to stand) tailored for a feminine singular subject. Because машина is feminine and the action occurred in the past, the verb takes the -ла ending to agree in gender and tense.
Why is the noun домом used, and what case is it in?
The word домом is the instrumental case form of дом (house). When using the preposition перед (in front of) to indicate position or location, Russian requires the noun to be in the instrumental case. Hence, перед домом means "in front of the house."
Why isn’t an additional verb like была used to indicate the past tense?
In Russian, the finite form of the verb itself carries the tense information. The form стояла already indicates that the action occurred in the past and agrees with the feminine subject, making any additional auxiliary (like была) unnecessary in this construction.
How would the sentence change if I wanted to express the present state of the car?
If you want to indicate that the car is currently in front of the house, you would change the verb to the present tense. The sentence becomes Моя машина стоит перед домом, with стоит being the present tense form of стоять.