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Questions & Answers about Источником света в комнате была настольная лампа.
Why is Источником in the instrumental case, not the nominative?
In Russian, when you have a predicate noun linked by the verb быть (to be) in past or future tense, that noun takes the instrumental case. It answers the question “in what capacity?” or “as what?” Here “Источником” (instrumental of источник) tells us as what the lamp functioned.
What is the grammatical subject of this sentence?
The subject is настольная лампа. It is in the nominative case (feminine singular) and follows the verb in this inverted word order. You can test it: it agrees with была (fem. sing. past of быть).
Why is the verb была in the past tense, feminine singular form?
Past-tense Russian verbs agree in gender and number with the subject. Since лампа is feminine singular and the event happened in the past, we use была. If the subject had been masculine, we’d say был, neuter было, plural были.
Why is комнате in the prepositional case?
After the preposition в indicating static location (answering “where?”), you use the prepositional case. So в комнате means “in the room.”
Why are there no articles like “the” or “a” before “desk lamp”?
Russian has no definite or indefinite articles. Context and word order convey specificity. Here настольная лампа can be translated as “a desk lamp” or “the desk lamp” depending on what you already know.
Can the word order be changed? For example, “Настольная лампа была источником света в комнате.”
Yes. That is a neutral Subject-Verb-Predicate (S-V-P) order. The original order (Predicate-Verb-Subject) puts emphasis on источник света. Both are correct.
What exactly does настольная лампа mean? Is it any lamp on a table?
Literally “lamp of the table,” i.e. a desk lamp or table lamp—a small lamp designed to stand on a desk or table, often adjustable.
Why is света in the genitive case?
The noun источник (source) governs the genitive: источник чего? (“source of what?”). So “света” is genitive singular of свет (light).
Why is the linking verb быть used here, even though in present tense Russians often omit it?
In the present tense, you can omit есть (“to be”) and simply say “Настольная лампа — источник света.” But in the past (and future) you must use быть (была/будет). The dash alone can’t replace a finite verb in past tense.
Why is there no dash between the subject and predicate here?
A dash often appears in present-tense equational sentences without быть. When you have a finite form of быть (like была), you do not use a dash between subject and predicate.