Лестница узкая, но я иду по ней спокойно.

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Breakdown of Лестница узкая, но я иду по ней спокойно.

• идти: to go
• но: but
• спокойно: calmly

Questions & Answers about Лестница узкая, но я иду по ней спокойно.

Why is there no verb like is in Лестница узкая?

In the present tense Russian usually omits the copula “to be.” So instead of saying “The staircase is narrow,” you just say Лестница узкая, literally “Staircase narrow.”

What grammatical case are лестница and узкая in, and why?

Both are in the nominative singular feminine. Лестница is the subject of the first clause, and узкая is its predicate adjective; predicate adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case, so they both appear in the nominative.

Why is there a comma before но?

Но is a coordinating conjunction linking two independent clauses (“Лестница узкая” and “я иду по ней спокойно”). In Russian, you put a comma before но when it joins full clauses just like in English.

What is the difference between the conjunctions но and а?

Both can mean “but,” but но expresses a stronger contrast or exception (“the staircase is narrow, but I’m still walking calmly”). А often just marks a gentle contrast or shift in topic, more like “and/but on the other hand.”

What does the preposition по indicate here, and why not ?