Questions & Answers about Тарелки стоят на верхней полке в шкафу.
What case is тарелки in, and how do I know it’s the plural subject of the sentence?
тарелки is the nominative plural of тарелка (“plate”). You can tell it’s plural because the verb стоят is in the third-person plural form. In Russian, the subject of a sentence takes the nominative case, so тарелки agrees with стоят.
How do I distinguish тарелки as nominative plural from тарелки as genitive singular?
They look identical in writing, but context and verb agreement clarify it. As the subject preceding the verb стоят, тарелки must be nominative plural. If it were genitive singular, the sentence structure and verb form would be different (e.g., “нет тарелки”).
Why is стоят used here instead of лежат?
Russian uses different verbs of location depending on how objects rest:
- стоять (“to stand”) for things upright
- лежать (“to lie”) for things flat
Plates in a rack or on their edges are standing, so you use стоят.
Why does верхняя полка become верхней полке after на, and what case is that?