Learn Hardcore Russian: В лесу растут деревья.

лесу is in the prepositional case (also called the locative) used to indicate where something is. Although most nouns in this case end in -е (e.g. в городе, в магазине), certain masculine place nouns like лес, сад, and поле take a special locative ending -у, giving в лесу for “in the forest/woods.”

Why is the preposition в used here instead of на?

Both в and на can translate as “in” or “on,” but their usage is lexical. в is used with enclosed or bounded spaces (e.g. в комнате, в лесу, в школе), while на is used with open areas or surfaces (e.g. на лугу, на улице, на столе).

Why is there no article before деревья?

Russian does not have definite or indefinite articles like “the” or “a.” The noun деревья by itself can mean either “trees” in a generic sense or specific trees, depending on the context.

Why is деревья in the nominative case?

деревья is the subject of the sentence—it’s the thing doing the action (growing). The nominative case is used for subjects in Russian.

Why is the verb растут placed before деревья, and is word order fixed?

Russian word order is relatively flexible. Starting with в лесу emphasizes location. Placing the verb before the noun (растут деревья) can give a slightly stylistic or poetic feel. The neutral order Деревья растут в лесу is equally correct.

What form of the verb is растут, and why is this form used?

растут is the 3rd person plural present tense form of the imperfective verb расти (“to grow”). It agrees in number with the plural subject деревья, and the imperfective aspect expresses an ongoing or habitual process.

What is the stress pattern in растут, and where does the emphasis fall?

The stress in растут falls on the second syllable: ras-TUT (rɐˈstut).

What is the singular form of деревья, and how does its plural differ?

The singular nominative is дерево (“tree”). Its plural деревья is irregular: the stem changes ( дерев- → деревь- ) and takes the ending -я.

How would you say “Many trees grow in the forest”?

You would use много with the genitive plural of дерево: В лесу растут много деревьев. Here много (“many”) requires the genitive plural, so деревьев is used.

What is the perfective counterpart of расти, and how does it change the nuance?

The perfective verb is вырасти, which denotes a completed action. You don’t have a present tense of вырасти; instead, you form the future: деревья вырастут (“the trees will have grown”). In the past, деревья выросли means “the trees grew” or “the trees have grown,” emphasizing completion.