Learn Hardcore Russian: Экзамен проходит в большом зале.

With events like экзамен, концерт, встреча, совещание, урок, проходить is a very common way to say they take place in a certain location or in a certain way:

Урок проходит онлайн. – The lesson takes place online.
Собрание проходит по понедельникам. – The meeting takes place on Mondays.

So here it is not “the exam passes,” but “the exam is taking place / is held.”

Why don’t we say есть or leave out the verb, like Экзамен в большом зале?

You can say Экзамен в большом зале, but it sounds more like a short answer or a note on a schedule:
“Exam – in the big hall.”

In full normal sentences about events, Russian very often uses a verb like:

проходит – takes place / is held
состоится – will take place (more formal, often future)
идёт – is on / is in progress (for movies, lessons, etc.)

So:

Экзамен проходит в большом зале.
= full, neutral sentence: The exam takes place in the big hall.
Экзамен в большом зале.
= elliptical, like a note or label: Exam – in the big hall.

Using есть (Экзамен есть в большом зале) is not natural in this context; Russian normally doesn’t use есть to say an event is happening somewhere.

Why is it в большом зале, not в большой зал or something else? Which case is this?

В большом зале is in the prepositional case, which is used for saying where something is / happens after the preposition в (in).

зал (hall) – masculine noun.
- Nominative: зал
- Prepositional (about location): в зале
большой (big) – adjective, masculine.
- Nominative masc. sg.: большой зал
- Prepositional masc. sg.: в большом зале

So:

где? (where?) → в большом зале (prepositional)
Compare with motion: куда? (to where?) → в большой зал (accusative)

Examples:

Занятие проходит в маленьком кабинете. – The class takes place in a small office.
Мы заходим в большой зал. – We (are going) into the big hall.

Why is it большом and not большой here?

Because большом is the prepositional singular masculine form of the adjective большой.

For masculine nouns after в in a static location meaning (where?), adjectives usually end in -ом:

большой зал → в большом зале
старый дом → в старом доме
новый офис → в новом офисе

Большой (with -ой) is the nominative masculine form, used when the noun is the subject of the sentence:

Большой зал пустой. – The big hall is empty.
Это большой зал. – This is a big hall.

In our sentence we need “in the big hall” (location), so: в большом зале.

What case is экзамен in, and why?

Экзамен is in the nominative case.

Nominative is used for the subject of the sentence – the thing that performs the action or that the sentence is about.
Here, the sentence is about the exam: what is taking place? → the exam.

Structure:

Экзамен (subject, nominative)
проходит (verb)
в большом зале (location, prepositional).

So:

Экзамен проходит в большом зале. – The exam takes place in the big hall.

Could we say В большом зале проходит экзамен instead? Does the word order change the meaning?

Yes, В большом зале проходит экзамен is perfectly correct. The basic meaning is the same.

Word order in Russian is relatively flexible and is often used to change emphasis rather than basic meaning:

Экзамен проходит в большом зале.
Neutral; slightly focuses on the exam and says where it takes place.
В большом зале проходит экзамен.
Slightly emphasizes the location first: In the big hall, an exam is taking place.

Both are natural. The second might be used if you are contrasting locations:

В малом зале идёт концерт, а в большом зале проходит экзамен.
In the small hall there is a concert, and in the big hall an exam is taking place.

What is the difference between проходит and идёт here? Could I say Экзамен идёт в большом зале?

You can say Экзамен идёт в большом зале, and it will be understood. But there is a nuance:

проходит – neutral, standard verb for events taking place (exams, lessons, meetings, etc.). Works well for describing scheduled or typical arrangements.
идёт – literally “goes,” often used for things in progress right now, especially:
- movies: Фильм идёт в кинотеатре.
- shows: Спектакль идёт в театре.
- sometimes classes or exams that are going on at this moment.

So:

Экзамен проходит в большом зале.
Neutral: the exam (in general, or at that time) takes place in the big hall.
Экзамен сейчас идёт в большом зале.
Emphasizes that it is going on right now in the big hall.

For a general description or timetable, проходит sounds more standard.

What’s the difference between проходит and состоится with экзамен?

Both can be used with экзамен, but they differ in aspect, typical tense, and feel:

проходит (imperfective, present):
- focuses on the process / regular occurrence.
- present: takes place / is held / is in progress.
- Экзамен проходит в большом зале.
  The exam takes place / is being held in the big hall.
состоится (perfective, future or “single event”):
- focuses on the fact that it will/has taken place as a single event.
- usually future: will take place.
- sounds more official/formal or announcement-like.
- Экзамен состоится в большом зале.
  The exam will take place in the big hall.

So for a general statement or describing an ongoing pattern, проходит is more typical; for an announcement of a specific upcoming exam, состоится is common.

How would I say “The exam will take place in the big hall”? How does the future work with проходить?

You have two common options:

Future with imperfective (process / duration / arrangement):
- Экзамен будет проходить в большом зале.
  The exam will be taking place / will take place in the big hall
  (neutral, can sound like describing the planned format or process).
Future with perfective (пройти – to take place and be completed):
- Экзамен пройдёт в большом зале.
  The exam will take place in the big hall
  (focus on the single event happening once).

Both are correct; in many contexts they are interchangeable.
If you just want a simple future “will take place,” Экзамен пройдёт в большом зале is very natural.

Russian doesn’t have articles. How do we know if it is “an exam” or “the exam”?

Russian does not use articles (a, an, the). Whether you translate экзамен as “an exam” or “the exam” depends on context in English:

If it’s a specific known exam (e.g., the final exam everyone knows about):
- Экзамен проходит в большом зале.
  → The exam takes place in the big hall.
If it’s any exam, not previously known:
- context could make you choose an exam in English:
  → An exam takes place in the big hall.

In Russian, экзамен is just “exam”; specificity is inferred from the situation, not from an article.