Breakdown of Над столом висит лампочка, а от неё идёт короткий провод.
стол
the table
идти
to go
над
over
от
from
висеть
to hang
она
it
а
and
короткий
short
лампочка
the light bulb
провод
the cord
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Questions & Answers about Над столом висит лампочка, а от неё идёт короткий провод.
Why is столом in the instrumental case after над? What case does над govern?
The preposition над expressing location always takes the instrumental case. That’s why стол becomes столом when you say “above the table.”
What’s the function of the conjunction а here? Could we use и instead?
The conjunction а is a coordinating conjunction meaning “and,” but it often introduces a slight shift or contrast between clauses. Here it links “the bulb hangs…” and “a short wire goes….” You could use и, but а feels more natural in this descriptive sequence.
What case is неё, and why does от take the genitive case?
The preposition от always requires its object in the genitive case. The pronoun она (“it” for a feminine noun) becomes её (often written неё with ё) in genitive.
Why is the letter ё used in неё, and how is it pronounced?
Russian has two letters е (pronounced “ye”) and ё (pronounced “yo”). The two dots over ё tell you it’s the second letter. In many texts ё is replaced by е, but here the dots clarify you should pronounce it “nyo.”
Which case is короткий провод in, and why isn’t it in another case?
Короткий провод is in the nominative case because it’s the subject of the intransitive verb идёт (“runs”/“goes”). Russian subjects of such verbs stay in the nominative.
Why are there no articles (“a”/“the”) before лампочка or короткий провод?
Russian has no articles. Indefiniteness or definiteness is understood from context. To be more specific you can use a demonstrative like эта лампочка (“this bulb”) or тот провод (“that wire”).
Why is the verb висит used, and how is it different from вешать?
Висеть is an intransitive verb meaning “to hang” (to be hanging) and describes something that hangs by itself (a lamp, a picture). Вешать is transitive, meaning “to hang (something up).”
How does идёт work with короткий провод? Why use идти (“to go”) for a wire?
In Russian, идти can describe the path of objects like roads or wires, meaning “to run” or “lead.” So короткий провод идёт от лампочки literally means “a short wire runs from the bulb.”