Выход находится рядом с кассой.

The exit is located next to the cash desk.

Breakdown of Выход находится рядом с кассой.

• находиться: to be located
• рядом с: next to
• касса: the cash desk
• выход: the going out

Questions & Answers about Выход находится рядом с кассой.

Why is there no word for “the” before выход?

Russian does not use articles at all (no a/an or the), so выход by itself can mean either “an exit” or “the exit”, depending on context.

In a real situation (e.g. directions in a building), the listener understands that you are talking about a specific, known exit, so in English we translate it as “the exit” even though Russian just says выход.

If you really want to emphasize that it is this particular exit, you can say:

• Этот выход находится рядом с кассой. – “This exit is next to the ticket office / cashier.”

What does находится literally mean, and why is it used here if Russian often omits “is”?

The verb находиться literally means “to be located / to be situated / to be found (somewhere)”.

• он / она / оно находится – “he / she / it is located”

In simple present-tense sentences, Russian often leaves out the verb быть (“to be”). For example:

• Выход рядом с кассой. – literally “Exit next to the cashier.”

This is grammatically fine, especially in signs, labels, maps, quick instructions.

However, находиться is very common in neutral, full sentences when you want to explicitly talk about where something is located. It sounds a bit more complete and formal than just putting two nouns next to each other:

• Выход находится рядом с кассой. – “The exit is located next to the cashier.”

So both are possible, but находится adds the idea of “is (situated) there” and makes it feel like a full sentence rather than a terse note.

What does the -ся ending in находится do?

The -ся ending makes the verb reflexive / middle voice.

• находить – “to find (something)”
• находиться – literally “to find oneself (somewhere)”, and in practice: “to be located / be situated”

So:

• Он находит выход. – “He finds the exit.” (non‑reflexive, he acts on something)
• Выход находится рядом с кассой. – “The exit is located next to the cashier.” (reflexive/middle, no direct object)

You’ll see -ся / -сь very often in Russian verbs with meanings like “be located”, “happen”, “be called”, “wash oneself”, etc.

What case is кассой, and why is that case used here?

Кассой is instrumental case, singular, from касса (“cash desk, ticket office, cashier’s booth”).

The instrumental singular of most feminine nouns ending in -а is:

• -ой (or sometimes -ою)

So:

• касса → кассой / кассою
• лампа → лампой
• мама → мамой

We use the instrumental case because of the preposition с in the fixed phrase рядом с:

• рядом с + instrumental = “next to / beside”

So grammatically we must say:

• рядом с кассой – “next to the ticket office”

Why do we need с in рядом с кассой? Can I say рядом кассой or рядом кассы?

You must use с here; рядом usually forms a fixed pattern:

• рядом с + instrumental – “next to, beside”

So:

• ✅ рядом с кассой
• ❌ рядом кассой
• ❌ рядом кассы

If you want to avoid с, you must change the preposition:

• возле кассы
• около кассы
• у кассы

All of those use genitive (кассы) and mean roughly “near / by the ticket office”.

But with рядом, the natural construction is рядом с plus instrumental.

What exactly does рядом mean, and how is it different from у, возле, or около?

All of these express nearness, but with slightly different nuances:

• рядом (с) – “right next to, beside”

  • Often implies close, side‑by‑side position.
  • Выход находится рядом с кассой. – The exit is right next to the cashier’s booth.

• у – “by, at”

  • Often used for being at someone’s place or at a point:
  • Мы стоим у кассы. – We are standing at the cash desk / in front of it.

• возле / около – “near, in the vicinity of”

  • More neutral “near”, can be slightly less “right next to” than рядом.
  • Выход находится возле кассы. – The exit is near the cashier.

In your sentence, рядом с кассой emphasizes that the exit is right beside the cashier’s area.

Why is выход in the form выход, not выхода or выходом?

Here, выход is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular:

• выход – nominative singular (basic dictionary form)

Some other forms are:

• выхода – genitive singular (“of the exit / no exit”)
• выходом – instrumental singular (“with/by the exit”)

The verb находится requires its subject to be in the nominative:

• Выход находится… – “The exit is located…”
• Станция находится… – “The station is located…”
• Магазин находится… – “The shop is located…”

So выход must be nominative here.

Can I change the word order to Рядом с кассой находится выход? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, that word order is perfectly correct:

• Рядом с кассой находится выход.

The basic meaning is the same: “The exit is (located) next to the ticket office.”

The difference is more about focus and what you start with:

• Выход находится рядом с кассой.

  • Neutral, starts from “the exit”.
  • Common when answering “Where is the exit?”

• Рядом с кассой находится выход.

  • Starts from the location “Next to the cashier…”
  • Feels a bit like: “Next to the cashier (you will find) the exit.”

Both are natural; Russian word order is fairly flexible and often used to change emphasis rather than pure grammar.

How would the sentence change in the plural: “The exits are next to the ticket offices”?

You need plural for the subject, verb, and the instrumental noun:

• Выходы находятся рядом с кассами.

Breakdown:

• выходы – plural nominative of выход (“exits”)
• находятся – 3rd person plural of находиться
• с кассами – instrumental plural of касса

So:

• Выходы находятся рядом с кассами. – “The exits are located next to the ticket offices.”

What are the stresses and approximate pronunciation of Выход находится рядом с кассой?

Stresses (marked with CAPITAL letters) and rough pronunciation:

• ВЫход – [VY-khut], stress on the first syllable.
• наХОдится – [na-KHO-deet-sya], stress on the second syllable.
• РЯдом – [RYA-dum], stress on the first syllable.
• с КАссой – [s KAS-soy], stress on the first syllable of кассой.

More precise IPA (for reference):

• выход – [ˈvɨ.xət]
• находится – [nɐˈxodʲɪt͡sə]
• рядом – [ˈrʲadəm]
• кассой – [ˈkasːəj]

What is the difference between кассой and кассою? Which should I use here?

Both кассой and кассою are instrumental singular of касса.

• кассой – more common in modern spoken and written Russian.
• кассою – a bit more old-fashioned or formal/literary, but still correct.

In your sentence, both are grammatically fine:

• Выход находится рядом с кассой. – the most natural, modern choice.
• Выход находится рядом с кассою. – more stylistically marked, but correct.

When would I use the shorter Выход рядом с кассой without находится?

Omitting находится is typical in:

• Signs and labels:

  • Туалет рядом с кассой.
  • Выход рядом с входом.

• Maps, diagrams, short notes:

  • On a plan: Склад справа, офис слева.

In full, neutral speech, especially in complete explanations or narratives, using находится is more natural:

• В нашем здании выход находится рядом с кассой.

So:

• For brief written information → Выход рядом с кассой is fine.
• For a normal full sentence → Выход находится рядом с кассой sounds better.