Календарь лежит на столе.

the table

Breakdown of Календарь лежит на столе.

• на: on
• лежать: to lie
• календарь: the calendar

Questions & Answers about Календарь лежит на столе.

Which case is used in bold на столе, and why?

It’s the prepositional case (singular). The preposition на uses the prepositional case to show static location (where something is). The noun стол changes to столе in the prepositional singular.

How do I say onto the table instead of on the table?

Use на with the accusative: на стол. Combine it with a motion/placing verb, e.g. Положи календарь на стол. (Put the calendar onto the table.) Static location takes на столе; movement to a destination takes на стол.

Why use лежит? When would I use стоит or висит?

Russian distinguishes position:

• лежит = is lying (flat/horizontal)
• стоит = is standing (upright/vertical base)
• висит = is hanging (suspended) A wall calendar: Календарь висит на стене. A desk flip calendar: Календарь стоит на столе. A flat calendar lying there: Календарь лежит на столе.

What exactly is лежит grammatically?

It’s 3rd person singular present of the imperfective verb лежать. Russian present covers both English simple and continuous: он лежит = he/it lies / is lying. Past: лежал/лежала/лежало/лежали; future: будет лежать.