Learn Hardcore Russian: Врач ставит печать на документ. - The doctor places a seal on the document.

The verb ставить is imperfective, meaning an ongoing or habitual action (“he is putting/places”). In this collocation it describes the action of affixing a seal. Its perfective counterpart is поставить.

Imperfective (process/habit): врач ставит печать
Perfective (single completed action): врач поставит печать (future) or врач поставил печать (past)

Why is печать in the nominative case and документ in the accusative with на?

печать is the direct object of ставить (“to put what?”). In Russian, direct objects of transitive verbs take the accusative, but since печать is feminine and ends in a soft consonant, its nominative and accusative forms coincide.
на документ uses the preposition на plus accusative to indicate direction onto a surface (“onto the document”). So the doctor places the seal onto the document’s surface.

What does печать mean here, and how is it different from штамп?

Печать is an official seal, often embossed or metal, used to certify documents.
Штамп is a rubber stamp, usually for office stamps with ink.
You’d use печать when referring to a formal, legally binding seal.

Could we use a different verb like проставить here? What nuance would that add?

Yes. Проставить печать is a perfective verb that specifically means “to place/apply a stamp or mark.” It focuses on the completion of putting the seal. For example:

Врач проставил печать на документе (“The doctor applied the seal to the document.”)
While поставить is more general (“to put/place”), проставить often collocates with marks, stamps, or annotations.

How would you say “The doctor stamped the document” in the past tense?

You’d choose the perfective aspect:

Врач поставил печать на документ.
Or, using проставить:
Врач проставил печать на документе.

Why not use в документ or the dative case here?

в документ
- accusative would mean “into the document” (as if you’re putting something inside).
Dative (документу) would express “to the document” as a recipient, which doesn’t fit stamping.
We need на
- accusative to show placing onto the document’s surface.

Can we express the tool of action with the instrumental case печатью?

Yes, but it changes the structure:

Врач ставит документ печатью.
Here документ is the direct object, and печатью (instrumental) indicates “with a seal.” This emphasizes the tool rather than the object being put down.

What is the gender and stress pattern of печать, and how does it decline?

Печать is feminine.
Stress is on the first syllable: пЕчать.
Its main forms:
• Nom/Acc sg – печать
• Gen sg – печати
• Dat sg – печати
• Instr sg – печатью
• Prep sg – печати

Can we change the word order, and would that affect the meaning?

Russian word order is flexible for emphasis. All of these are possible:
• Врач ставит печать на документ. (neutral)
• Печать врач ставит на документ. (emphasize “the seal”)
• Врач на документ ставит печать. (emphasize “on the document”)
The basic meaning stays the same, but the element you move forward gains emphasis.

What nuance does the imperfective ставит add compared to the perfective?

The imperfective ставит highlights the process or habit (e.g., “the doctor is in the act of stamping” or “he (regularly) stamps”). The perfective (поставил/поставит) emphasizes that the action is completed or will be completed at a specific point.