Learn Hardcore Russian: Лифт медленно поднимается вверх.

медленно is an adverb (наречие). It’s formed from the adjective медленный by replacing the ending -ый with -о. Adverbs answer “how?” and describe the manner of the action.

What case is лифт in, and why is there no word for the or a before it?

Лифт is in the nominative singular because it’s the subject of the sentence. Russian has no articles like the or a; definiteness is understood from context or added with words like этот (this) or каждый (every).

Why does поднимается end with -ся, and what does this suffix indicate?

The suffix -ся makes подниматься reflexive/inchoative, turning it into an intransitive verb. It means:

The action is performed by the subject itself (“goes up”).
There’s no separate direct object.
Without -ся, поднимать would be transitive (“to raise something”).

Is поднимается imperfective or perfective, and how would you say “the lift rose up” or “will rise up” in Russian?

Поднимается is imperfective in the present tense, expressing an ongoing action (“is rising”). To talk about a completed or single ascent, use perfective:

Past: Лифт поднялся вверх. (“The lift rose up.”)
Future (one-time): Лифт поднимется вверх. (“The lift will rise up.”)

What part of speech is вверх, and why isn’t it a preposition?

Вверх is an adverb of direction, not a preposition. It modifies the verb by specifying where the action goes (“upwards”). Unlike prepositions, it doesn’t govern noun cases.

Could you drop вверх and just say Лифт медленно поднимается?

Yes, you can. Подниматься already means “to go up,” so вверх is somewhat redundant. However, adding вверх:

Emphasizes the direction.
Makes the sentence clearer, especially in ambiguous contexts.

Why is медленно placed before the verb, and can you move it elsewhere in the sentence?

Russian word order is quite flexible. Placing медленно before поднимается highlights the manner first. You could also say:

Лифт поднимается медленно вверх.
Медленно лифт поднимается вверх.
Moving the adverb changes the emphasis slightly but not the basic meaning.

How would you say “the lift is going down slowly” in Russian?

You replace the verb with its antonym:

Лифт медленно опускается вниз.
Or use спускаться:
Лифт медленно спускается вниз.