В коридоре стоит какой-то стул.

Some kind of chair is standing in the corridor.

Breakdown of В коридоре стоит какой-то стул.

• в: in
• стоять: to stand
• стул: the chair
• коридор: the corridor
• какой-то: some

Questions & Answers about В коридоре стоит какой-то стул.

What is the function and nuance of какой-то in this sentence?

Какой-то is an indefinite pronoun/adjective often translated as “some (kind of)” or “some (unspecified)”.

Nuances:

• It shows that the speaker does not know or doesn’t care to specify which chair it is.
• It can sound a bit vague or dismissive, like “some random chair” / “some weird chair”.
• It’s stronger than just saying “a chair”; there is a hint of uncertainty, surprise, or mild annoyance.

Compare:

• В коридоре стоит стул. – There is a chair in the corridor. (neutral, just stating a fact)
• В коридоре стоит какой-то стул. – There’s some (odd / random / unknown) chair in the corridor.

How is какой-то different from какой-нибудь?

Both are indefinite, but they differ in nuance:

• Какой-то – “some (specific but unknown to me)”

  • The object exists in reality; the speaker just doesn’t know or doesn’t want to specify which one.
  • Often a bit subjective: surprise, irritation, or “some random…”

• Какой-нибудь – “any (you like)/some (doesn’t matter which)”

  • Emphasizes that the choice doesn’t matter; it could be any chair.

Examples:

• В коридоре стоит какой-то стул. – There actually is a particular chair there; I just don’t know/like it.
• Принеси какой-нибудь стул. – Bring any chair; I don’t care which one.

Why is it в коридоре, not в коридор?

Russian distinguishes between location and direction:

• В + prepositional case = location (where something is)
  • в коридоре – in the corridor (static location)
• В + accusative case = direction (where something is going)
  • в коридор – into the corridor (motion towards)

In this sentence, the chair is already located there, not moving, so we use the prepositional:
В коридоре стоит какой-то стул. – There is some (kind of) chair in the corridor.

What case is коридоре, and how is it formed from коридор?

Коридоре is in the prepositional case, singular.

Declension (singular, masculine, inanimate, ending in a consonant):

• Nominative: коридор (basic form, “corridor”)
• Prepositional (after в, на for location): в коридоре, о коридоре

To form it:

• Take the base коридор
• Add -е → коридоре

Why do we use стоит (“stands”) instead of just saying есть or nothing, like В коридоре есть стул?

Russian often uses verbs of position (стоять, лежать, сидеть) in existential sentences.

Differences:

1. В коридоре стоит стул.

   • Literally: A chair is standing in the corridor.
   • Very natural; emphasizes the way it is positioned (upright, on legs).
   • Neutral everyday style.

2. В коридоре есть стул.

   • Literally: There exists a chair in the corridor.
   • Grammatically correct, but feels more abstract or explanatory (e.g., listing available furniture).
   • Less visual than стоит.

3. В коридоре стул.

   • Possible, but sounds either telegraphic (note, label) or like strong focus: “As for the corridor – there’s a chair (there).”
   • In normal conversation, you’d usually add стоит, есть, or change the word order for clarity.

So стоит is the most natural choice for a simple, vivid statement about an object’s presence and position.

Why specifically стоит and not лежит or находится?

Russian chooses the verb based on how the object is positioned:

• стоит (from стоять) – for objects that are upright or on their base/legs:
  • стул стоит, шкаф стоит, дом стоит
• лежит (from лежать) – for objects lying horizontally:
  • книга лежит, кот лежит, человек лежит
• сидит – for people/animals sitting:
  • человек сидит, кошка сидит
• находится – neutral “is located”, more formal or impersonal:
  • В коридоре находится стул. (sounds a bit official/technical)

Since a chair normally stands upright on its legs, стоит is the natural verb.

Why is какой-то стул in the nominative case?

The subject of the verb is put in the nominative case in Russian.

In В коридоре стоит какой-то стул:

• The verb is стоит.
• What is standing? → какой-то стул.
• So какой-то стул is the subject and must be nominative:
  • какой-то – nominative masculine singular
  • стул – nominative masculine singular

If the chair were an object of a verb or governed by a preposition that requires another case, the form would change.

How does какой-то agree with стул grammatically?

Какой-то works like an adjective and must agree with the noun in:

• Gender – стул is masculine → какой-то
• Number – стул is singular → какой-то
• Case – subject in nominative → какой-то

Other forms for comparison:

• Feminine: какая-то книга
• Neuter: какое-то окно
• Plural: какие-то стулья

What is the difference between стоит (“stands”) and сто́ит (“costs”)? They look the same in writing.

They are distinguished by stress and meaning:

1. стои́т [sta-ÍT] – from стоять (“to stand”)

   • Meaning: is standing, stands
   • Our sentence uses this form: В коридоре стоит какой-то стул.

2. сто́ит [STO-it] – from стоить (“to cost”)

   • Meaning: costs, is worth
   • Example: Стул стоит две тысячи рублей. – The chair costs 2000 rubles.

In writing they are identical; in speech, stress and context make it clear which one is meant.

Can I change the word order? For example: Какой-то стул стоит в коридоре?

Yes, Russian word order is fairly flexible, but the focus changes slightly.

Common variants:

1. В коридоре стоит какой-то стул.

   • Neutral; focuses on what is in the corridor.
   • Typical answer to “What’s in the corridor?”

2. Какой-то стул стоит в коридоре.

   • Slight emphasis on какой-то стул (the existence/identity of the chair).
   • Typical if you’re talking about this strange chair first, then adding where it is.

3. В коридоре какой-то стул стоит.

   • A bit more colloquial/emphatic, can give extra emphasis to какой-то стул.

All three are grammatical; the first is the most neutral and common.

Could I say В коридоре есть какой-то стул instead? What’s the nuance?

You can, and it’s grammatically correct, but the feeling is different:

• В коридоре стоит какой-то стул.

  • More visual, natural, everyday.
  • Implies you see an actual chair standing there.

• В коридоре есть какой-то стул.

  • More informational, like listing equipment: “In the corridor there is some chair.”
  • Slightly less vivid; the verb есть focuses on existence, not position.

In casual speech about physical objects you see, стоит is usually better.

Why do we use в and not на with коридор?

With many enclosed spaces or rooms, Russian uses в:

• в комнате – in the room
• в коридоре – in the corridor
• в квартире – in the apartment
• в школе – in the school

На is used more for open surfaces, events, or some set phrases:

• на столе – on the table
• на улице – outside / in the street
• на кухне (exception; fixed usage)

For коридор, the standard is в коридоре, not на коридоре.

How would this sentence change in the past or future?

The noun phrase stays the same; the verb changes tense.

Present:

• В коридоре стоит какой-то стул. – There is some chair (standing) in the corridor.

Past:

• В коридоре стоял какой-то стул. – There was some chair (standing) in the corridor.
  • стоял for masculine singular (refers to стул)

Future (simple future):

• В коридоре будет стоять какой-то стул. – There will be some chair (standing) in the corridor.

Verb paradigm (3rd person singular, “to stand”):

• Past: стоял / стояла / стояло
• Present: стоит
• Future: будет стоять

How is В коридоре стоит какой-то стул different in meaning from just В коридоре стоит стул?

Both are grammatical, but the nuance is different:

• В коридоре стоит стул.

  • Simple, neutral statement: a chair is there.
  • No special attitude; just information.

• В коридоре стоит какой-то стул.

  • Adds indefiniteness + attitude:
    • The chair is unknown, unexpected, suspicious, or unimportant.
    • Could suggest surprise or mild irritation:
      • “There’s some (random) chair in the corridor…”

So какой-то makes the sentence more expressive and subjective.