Breakdown of В корзине лежат огурцы, помидоры и картофель.
в
in
и
and
лежать
to lie
корзина
the basket
огурец
the cucumber
помидор
the tomato
картофель
the potato
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about В корзине лежат огурцы, помидоры и картофель.
What case is корзине in and why?
Корзине is in the prepositional case, which you use after the preposition в to indicate location (where something is).
How do you know в here takes the prepositional case and not the accusative?
When в means “into” (movement toward), it takes accusative; when it means “in” or “at” (static location), it takes prepositional. Here we're describing where the vegetables lie, so it's prepositional.
Why is the verb лежат used instead of есть?
Лежать (“to lie”) describes the physical position of objects. Есть is a general existential verb meaning “there is/are.” Using лежат gives a more vivid picture: the cucumbers, tomatoes, and potatoes are actually lying in the basket.
Why are огурцы and помидоры in the plural, but картофель in the singular?
Огурцы and помидоры refer to multiple countable items, so they are in the nominative plural. Картофель is treated as a collective mass noun (potatoes in general), so it remains in the nominative singular.
What case are огурцы, помидоры и картофель in?
They are all in the nominative case because they function as the subject of the verb лежат (they are the things lying in the basket).
Why isn’t there a comma before и in огурцы, помидоры и картофель?
In Russian, you do not put a comma before the last conjunction и in a simple list. Commas separate list items, but there’s no comma before the final и.
Could I change the word order to Огурцы, помидоры и картофель лежат в корзине?
Yes. Russian has a fairly flexible word order. Placing В корзине first emphasizes the location, but you can start with the list of items without altering the basic meaning.
Why is the verb лежат in plural? Would лежит be wrong?
The verb must agree with its subject in number. Since огурцы, помидоры и картофель together count as plural, you use лежат. Лежит is singular and would only work if the subject were a single item.