Questions & Answers about Я вешаю пальто в шкаф.
Why is пальто the same form here? Shouldn’t it change in the accusative case?
Пальто is an indeclinable noun in Russian. That means it does not change form in any case or number:
- nominative: пальто
- accusative: пальто
- genitive: пальто, etc.
Even in plural it stays пальто.
So in this sentence, пальто is the direct object in the accusative case, but it just looks identical to the nominative form.
Why is it в шкаф, not в шкафу?
The choice between в шкаф and в шкафу depends on direction vs. location:
- в шкаф (+ accusative) = movement into something, direction
- Я вешаю пальто в шкаф. – I am hanging the coat into the wardrobe.
- в шкафу (+ prepositional) = being in something, location
- Пальто в шкафу. – The coat is in the wardrobe.
Because the verb вешаю describes putting/hanging something into the wardrobe (a change of location), Russian uses в + accusative: в шкаф.
Why does шкаф stay шкаф in the accusative? Shouldn’t it change?