Questions & Answers about Моя книга лежит в шкафу.
Why is the possessive pronoun моя used before книга and how do I choose the right form of мой?
In Russian, possessive pronouns agree with the noun in gender, number and case. Here книга is feminine, singular and in the nominative case (it’s the subject). The nominative-feminine form of мой is моя, so you say моя книга. Other forms include мой (masculine nominative), моё (neuter nominative) and мои (plural).
Why is there no article like “the” or “a” in this sentence?
Russian has no definite or indefinite articles. You simply say книга for “(a/the) book.” Context, word order or demonstratives (e.g. эта книга – “this book”) clarify whether it’s definite or indefinite.
What does лежит mean, and why is this verb used here?
Лежит is the 3rd-person singular present form of лежать (“to lie,” in the sense of resting in a horizontal position). It describes a static location. If you wanted the action “to put (the book) down,” you’d use положить or класть, but here you’re simply stating where the book is.
What case is в шкафу, and why is the ending -у used instead of -е?