Дома у сына стоит копилка в виде утки.

At home my son has a piggy bank in the shape of a duck.

Breakdown of Дома у сына стоит копилка в виде утки.

• стоять: to stand
• дома: at home
• у: at
• сын: the son
• утка: the duck
• копилка: the piggy bank
• в виде: in the shape of

Questions & Answers about Дома у сына стоит копилка в виде утки.

Why is дома used without a preposition, and what exactly does it mean?

Дома here is an adverb meaning at home.
It does not need a preposition, just like English home in I’m home.

Compare:

• дома = at home (general location)
• в доме = in the house (inside the building, more physical)

Also note the stress:

• до́ма (stress on the first syllable) = at home
• дома́ (stress on the last syllable) = houses (plural).

In this sentence it is до́ма = at home.

What does у сына mean, and why is сын changed to сына?

У followed by the genitive case (у + genitive) can mean at someone’s place or express possession (someone has something).

• сын is nominative (dictionary form: a son).
• сына is genitive singular (of a son / of the son).

So у сына literally is at the son’s (place) or by the son, and in context it corresponds to my son has or at my son’s home.

Does дома у сына mean at my son’s home or at home, my son has…?

Both readings are very close, and in practice they come to the same idea.

• дома = at home (here, effectively his home),
• у сына = at the son’s place / the son has.

So Дома у сына стоит копилка… is naturally understood as:

• At my son’s home, there is a piggy bank…
  or
• At home, my son has a piggy bank…

Russian does not sharply separate those two interpretations here.

Why isn’t there a separate word for there is / is like English is or there is?

In Russian, the present tense form of быть (есть) is often omitted when you simply state that something exists or is located somewhere.

Instead of literally saying There is a piggy bank, Russian usually just says:

• У сына стоит копилка… (literally: By the son stands a piggy bank…)

You could say У сына дома есть копилка…, but with a specific object in a specific place, a verb like стоит / лежит / висит is more natural than есть.

Why is стоит used? Doesn’t it just mean stands?

Стоит is the 3rd person singular of стоять (to stand). Russian often uses verbs of position to say where objects are:

• На столе стоит лампа. – A lamp stands on the table.
• На диване лежит книга. – A book lies on the sofa.
• На стене висит картина. – A picture hangs on the wall.

So стоит копилка means the piggy bank is located somewhere in an upright position. It’s the normal, idiomatic way to say there is a piggy bank (standing there).

Could I say есть instead of стоит, like У сына дома есть копилка?

You can, and it’s grammatically correct: У сына дома есть копилка в виде утки.

However, there is a nuance:

• есть focuses on existence/possession: the son has a piggy bank.
• стоит focuses on physical location/position: there is a piggy bank standing (somewhere at home).

In everyday speech, when talking about where objects are, стоит/лежит/висит sound more vivid and natural than есть.

What is the form and role of копилка in this sentence?

Копилка is feminine, nominative singular; it is the grammatical subject of the verb стоит.

• Dictionary form: копилка (a piggy bank / money box)
• Nominative singular ending -а shows it’s a standard feminine noun of the first declension.

So the basic structure is:

• (Where?) Дома у сына
• (What happens?) стоит
• (What?) копилка в виде утки.

Why is утки (not утка) used after в виде? What case is it?

Утки here is genitive singular of утка (a duck).

The fixed expression в виде (in the form of / in the shape of) takes the genitive case:

• в виде утки – in the form of a duck
• в виде сердца – in the form of a heart
• в виде круга – in the form of a circle

So в виде + genitive is a standard pattern meaning in the form/shape of something.

Could I say в форме утки or just как утка instead of в виде утки?

• в форме утки is fine and close in meaning: in the shape of a duck.
• в виде утки is very common and slightly more neutral/formal.

Как утка usually means like a duck / as a duck, more about behavior or comparison, not shape.
So for the physical shape of an object, в виде утки or в форме утки is better than как утка.

Can the word order be changed, for example У сына дома стоит копилка в виде утки?

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, and several versions are natural:

• Дома у сына стоит копилка в виде утки.
• У сына дома стоит копилка в виде утки.

Both mean essentially the same thing.
Starting with дома slightly emphasizes the place (at home); starting with у сына slightly emphasizes whose place / who has it. There is no big semantic difference here.

What is the difference between дома у сына and у сына дома?

Both are used and both are understandable.

• Дома у сына – first highlights the idea at home, then specifies at the son’s (place).
• У сына дома – first highlights at the son’s, then adds (at his) home.

In practice they both mean at the son’s home. Any difference in emphasis is very slight and usually not important.

How would this sentence look in the past or future?

The verb стоять changes tense; everything else stays the same:

• Past: Дома у сына стояла копилка в виде утки.
  – At my son’s home, there was a piggy bank shaped like a duck.

• Future: Дома у сына будет стоять копилка в виде утки.
  – At my son’s home, there will be a piggy bank shaped like a duck.

Only the verb form (стоит → стояла / будет стоять) changes.