Breakdown of На лестнице сидят два человека.
сидеть
to sit
на
on
человек
the person
два
two
лестница
the staircase
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Questions & Answers about На лестнице сидят два человека.
What case is used in на лестнице, and why?
На лестнице uses the prepositional case because after the preposition на to indicate location (answering где?) nouns take this case.
Why does the verb сидят appear in the plural form here?
Because the subject два человека refers to two individuals, which is plural, so the verb must agree in number and takes the 3rd person plural form сидят instead of сидит.
Why is the noun человека in the genitive singular form after два, rather than nominative plural люди?
In Russian, after numerals 2, 3, and 4, the counted noun is in the genitive singular. Therefore, человека (genitive singular) is used with два, not люди (nominative plural).
Can we change the word order in this sentence, for instance putting два человека first?
Yes. Russian has flexible word order. Два человека сидят на лестнице means the same, though placing на лестнице at the start emphasizes where they are rather than who.
Could we use двое людей instead of два человека, and are there any differences?
Yes, двое людей is a correct alternative using a collective numeral for people. It often sounds slightly more informal or emphasizes the group as a whole. Both mean “two people.”
Why do we use на лестнице and not в лестнице or another preposition?
To express location on a surface like stairs, Russian uses на + prepositional. В лестнице would imply being inside the staircase structure, which is uncommon. For movement along the stairs, you’d use по лестнице + dative.