Маленькая река протекает рядом с домом.

the house

Breakdown of Маленькая река протекает рядом с домом.

• маленький: small
• с: with
• река: the river

Questions & Answers about Маленькая река протекает рядом с домом.

Why is the adjective маленькая ending in -ая instead of -ый or -ое?

Because in Russian adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. Here река is feminine, singular and in the nominative case (as the subject), so the adjective takes the ending -ая. A masculine nominative adjective would be маленький, and a neuter one would be маленькое.

Why is река in the nominative case?

The nominative case marks the subject of the sentence, which is the entity performing the action. Since река (“river”) is the subject that “flows,” it appears in the nominative.

What is the difference between протекать and течь, and why is протекает used here?

Both verbs mean “to flow,” but:
• течь is more general and common in everyday speech.
• протекать often emphasizes the location or the process of flowing along a path.
Here, протекает (imperfective, present tense) highlights the ongoing action of the river flowing next to the house.

Why is протекает in the present tense, and why isn’t there a perfective present form?