Breakdown of За дверью стояла какая‑то женщина с маленькой собакой.
собака
the dog
маленький
small
с
with
стоять
to stand
Questions & Answers about За дверью стояла какая‑то женщина с маленькой собакой.
What case is дверью, and why is that case used after за here?
Дверью is in the instrumental case (творительный падеж).
The preposition за can use different cases with slightly different meanings:
- за
- instrumental → location: “behind / beyond something” (where?)
- за дверью = behind the door (static location)
- instrumental → location: “behind / beyond something” (where?)
- за
- accusative → direction or purpose: “to go behind / beyond / to get / to pick up” (where to? for what?)
- зайти за дверь = to go behind the door
- зайти за молоком = to go (in order) to get milk
- accusative → direction or purpose: “to go behind / beyond / to get / to pick up” (where to? for what?)
In this sentence, we’re describing where the woman was (a fixed position), so за takes the instrumental: за дверью.
Why does дверь become дверью? Where does that ending come from?