Learn Hardcore Russian: Новый фонарь стоит у входа.

Новый is an adjective in the masculine singular nominative case. It agrees in gender, number, and case with фонарь, indicating that the lamp is new.

What case is фонарь in and why?

Фонарь is in the nominative case because it’s the subject of the sentence—it’s the thing that “stands” (стоит).

What does стоит mean here?

Стоит is the 3rd person singular present tense form of стоять (‘to stand’). In this context, it means ‘is positioned’ or ‘stands’ in the sense of a stationary object.

Why is входа in the genitive case after у?

The preposition у requires the genitive case to indicate proximity or possession. So вход (entrance) becomes входа (‘of the entrance’) to mean ‘by/at the entrance’.

How would you translate у входа into English?

Literally, it’s ‘by the entrance’ or ‘at the entrance’, showing that the lamp is located near that point.

Can you say на входе instead of у входа, and is there a difference?

You can say на входе, which also means ‘at the entrance’. However, у входа emphasizes being immediately beside the entrance, while на входе can imply right on the threshold or just inside the entrance area.

Where is the stress in фонарь?

The stress falls on the second syllable: фон-арь.

Is the word order flexible? For example, can I say Стоит новый фонарь у входа?

Yes. Russian has relatively free word order. Стоит новый фонарь у входа conveys the same meaning; it may slightly shift the emphasis (highlighting the action first), but the core message remains unchanged.