Learn Hardcore Russian: В прихожей висит мой тёплый свитер, и я надеваю его, когда выхожу вечером. - In the entryway my warm sweater is hanging, and I put it on when I go out in the evening.

Russian often uses a “location-first” word order to introduce where something is: В прихожей висит мой тёплый свитер ≈ “In the hallway, my warm sweater is hanging.”

висит is singular because the grammatical subject is свитер (one sweater).
This word order is very natural for “there is/there hangs…” style statements. You can also say Мой тёплый свитер висит в прихожей with more neutral “subject-first” emphasis.

What case is в прихожей, and why does прихожая become прихожей?

В прихожей uses the prepositional case (also called “locative” in some contexts) after в when it means “in/inside (a place)” and answers “where?”

Dictionary form: прихожая (feminine)
Prepositional singular: (в) прихожей

How do I know whether to use в прихожей or в прихожую?

It depends on “where?” vs “to where?”

в прихожей = “in the hallway” (location, where?, prepositional)
в прихожую = “into the hallway” (direction, to where?, accusative)
Example: Я вхожу в прихожую = “I enter the hallway.”

Why is there no word for “is/are” (like есть) in В прихожей висит…?

In present tense, Russian usually omits the verb “to be” (есть) in simple statements. Here you don’t need it anyway because the main verb is висит (“is hanging”). Even in sentences like “The sweater is in the hallway,” Russian typically says Свитер в прихожей (no есть).

What’s the difference between висит and висеть?

висеть is the infinitive: “to hang (be hanging)”
висит is the 3rd person singular present form: “(it) hangs / is hanging”
Conjugation (present): я вишу, ты висишь, он/она/оно висит, мы висим, вы висите, они висят.

Why is it мой тёплый свитер (nominative), not some other case?

Because свитер is the subject of висит. Subjects are normally in the nominative case:

мой = masculine nominative singular (agrees with свитер)
тёплый = masculine nominative singular (agrees with свитер)
свитер = nominative singular

Why does Russian say надеваю его and not надеваю он?

Because надеваю (“I put on”) takes a direct object in the accusative case:

он (he/it) → accusative его (him/it)
Here его = “it,” referring to свитер.

When should I use надевать/надеваю vs надеть/надену?

This is an aspect choice:

надевать / надеваю (imperfective) = habitual/repeated or process: “I put it on (whenever…), I’m putting it on”
надеть / надену (perfective) = one completed action: “I will put it on (once), I put it on (and it’s done)”
In this sentence, надеваю fits because когда… implies a repeated routine (“whenever I go out…”).

Why is it когда выхожу вечером (present tense) if the meaning is habitual “when I go out in the evening”?

Russian commonly uses the present tense with когда to describe regular/habitual situations:

когда выхожу вечером = “when(ever) I go out in the evening”
If you meant a single future occasion, you might instead use a future/perfective idea depending on context (often still with когда, but the verb choice changes).

What’s the difference between выходить/выхожу and выйти/выйду?

Another aspect pair:

выходить / выхожу (imperfective) = going out as a repeated habit or as a process
выйти / выйду (perfective) = going out once as a completed event
Here выхожу matches the “whenever I go out” routine.

Why is вечером in that form—what case is it?

вечером is the instrumental case of вечер, used in a very common time expression meaning “in the evening.”

утром (in the morning), днём (in the daytime), вечером (in the evening), ночью (at night) are standard adverbial forms.

Why is there a comma before и in …, и я надеваю его…?

Because и connects two independent clauses with different subjects: 1) В прихожей висит мой тёплый свитер (subject: свитер)
2) и я надеваю его… (subject: я)
In Russian, a comma is normally required before и in this situation.

Do I have to write тёплый with ё, and how is it pronounced?

In careful writing, ё is correct: тёплый is pronounced with yo: TYOP-lyy (stress on ё). In many texts, ё is often written as е (теплый), but it’s still pronounced тёплый based on the word you know.