Напротив меня сидит старик с тростью.

to sit

Breakdown of Напротив меня сидит старик с тростью.

• с: with
• меня: me
• напротив: opposite

Questions & Answers about Напротив меня сидит старик с тростью.

What part of speech is напротив here and what case does it govern?

It’s a preposition meaning “opposite” or “across from”, and it always takes the genitive case—hence меня (genitive of я).

Why is меня in the genitive case and not мне?

Because напротив requires the genitive, whereas мне is the dative form of я. Using мне here would be grammatically incorrect.

What function does Напротив меня serve in the sentence?

It’s an adverbial modifier of place (circumstantial modifier), answering the question “Where?”—i.e. “Opposite me.”

Why is the verb сидит in the present tense and imperfective aspect?

Сидит is the 3rd-person singular present form of the imperfective verb сидеть (“to sit; to be sitting”). Imperfective verbs describe ongoing or habitual actions or states. The perfective counterpart посидеть would imply a completed action (“to have sat for a while”), which doesn’t fit here.

Why is старик in the nominative case?