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Questions & Answers about В комнате стояла тьма.
What case is комнате in and why?
комнате is in the prepositional singular case. In Russian, to indicate location inside something you use в plus the prepositional case. So в комнате literally means in the room.
Why is тьма in the nominative case?
Because тьма is the subject of the sentence. Russian nouns serving as subjects typically remain in the nominative case, and the verb agrees with that subject.
What does the verb стояла mean here, and why not use была?
Literally, стояла is the past tense of “to stand.” In this context it’s a verb of position, giving a vivid image of darkness “standing” or “lingering” in the room. You could say В комнате была тьма, but стояла sounds more atmospheric, as if the darkness has presence or weight.
Why is стояла in the feminine form?
Past-tense Russian verbs agree in gender and number with their subjects. Since тьма is feminine singular, the verb takes the feminine ending -ла. If the subject had been masculine, e.g. туман, you would say В комнате стоял туман.
What’s the difference between тьма, темнота, and using темно?
• тьма (feminine noun) is a somewhat poetic or dramatic “darkness.”
• темнота (feminine noun) is a more neutral “darkness.”
• темно is a predicative adjective/adverb meaning “it’s dark.”
You could also say В комнате было темно (It was dark in the room), but стояла тьма paints a stronger, more vivid picture.
Why is the word order в комнате стояла тьма, with the location first and the subject last?
Russian word order is flexible. Placing в комнате at the beginning sets the scene (the where), and moving тьма to the end adds dramatic emphasis—similar to “In the room there was darkness” in English.
How do you pronounce тьма with the cluster тьм?
The combination тьм begins with a soft tʲ (as in тёплый), so you pronounce it roughly [tʲma]. Make sure your tongue is raised toward the hard palate for the soft tʲ, then release into the m.
Is В комнате стояла тьма formal or poetic?
This construction is more literary or poetic. In everyday conversation you’d more likely hear В комнате было темно or simply В комнате темно, which are more neutral.
Why doesn’t Russian need a word equivalent to English “there” in “there was darkness”?
English uses “there” as a dummy subject in existential sentences. Russian typically omits such a placeholder— the verb (like было or стояла) and the noun are enough to show existence or presence.