Questions & Answers about С балкона прямо видно парк.
Why is it с балкона and not из балкона?
Russian distinguishes с and из more sharply than English:
с (+ genitive) = from off / from the surface / from an open elevated place
- с крыши – from the roof
- с горы – from the mountain
- с балкона – from the balcony (thought of as an open platform)
из (+ genitive) = from the inside of something closed or container-like
- из дома – from (inside) the house
- из комнаты – from (inside) the room
A balcony is treated as an open surface you stand on, so Russian uses с балкона, not из балкона.
What case is балкона, and why is that case used?
Балкона is in the genitive singular.
The preposition с meaning from (off) always takes the genitive:
- с балкона – from the balcony
- с работы – from work
- с дерева – from the tree
So the choice of case is dictated by the preposition с.
What part of speech is видно, and how is it different from виден / видна / видны?