Можно оставить чемодан у входа?

Can I leave my suitcase by the entrance?

Breakdown of Можно оставить чемодан у входа?

• у: by
• вход: the entrance
• чемодан: the suitcase
• оставить: to leave
• можно: may / can

Questions & Answers about Можно оставить чемодан у входа?

What does можно mean here, and who is the subject of the sentence?

Можно is an impersonal word meaning it’s allowed / it’s possible / one may.
There is no explicit subject like I/you/we. In English you naturally supply it: Can I…? / May I…? / Is it OK to…?
So Можно оставить чемодан…? literally is Is it allowed/possible to leave the suitcase…?

Why is the verb оставить in the infinitive?

After impersonal можно, Russian typically uses the infinitive to describe the action that is allowed/possible:

• Можно + infinitive → Можно оставить… = It’s OK to leave…
  This avoids choosing a person/tense, which is why it’s a common polite way to ask permission.

What’s the difference between оставить and оставлять in this kind of question?

Оставить is usually perfective: a single, completed action (leave it and it will be left there).
Оставлять is usually imperfective: the process/habit or a more general idea.

In permission questions:

• Можно оставить чемодан…? → Can I leave it (once, now)?
• Можно оставлять чемоданы…? → Is it allowed to leave suitcases (in general / repeatedly)?

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

Чемодан is the direct object of оставить, so it takes the accusative case.
For many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative looks the same as the nominative, so you don’t see a change: чемодан → чемодан.

What does у входа mean exactly, and why is входа in that ending?

У means by/near/at (someone’s place / next to) and it requires the genitive case.
Вход (entrance) in the genitive singular becomes входа.
So у входа = near the entrance / by the entrance.

Could I say на входе or у двери instead? What’s the nuance?

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly:

• у входа = near the entrance (natural for “by the entrance”)
• у двери = by the door (more specific)
• на входе can sound like at the entry point / on entry, and is less natural for “leave it by the entrance” than у входа. If you mean “right at the entrance area,” у входа is usually the safest.

Is Можно оставить чемодан у входа? polite enough, or should I add something?

It’s neutral and polite in many everyday situations. To make it softer/more explicitly a request, you can add:

• Пожалуйста (either at the start or end): Можно оставить чемодан у входа, пожалуйста?
  Or address the person formally:
• Извините, можно…? = Excuse me, may I…?

What’s the difference between Можно оставить…? and Можно ли оставить…?

Both are common and correct.

• Можно оставить…? is very natural in spoken Russian.
• Можно ли оставить…? is slightly more explicit as a yes/no permission question (the ли marks it clearly as “whether it’s allowed”).

In practice they’re often interchangeable.

Could I use могу instead of можно?

Yes, but it changes the focus:

• Можно оставить…? → permission/allowed (social rules, the place’s policy)
• Я могу оставить…? → ability/possibility for me (sometimes still understood as permission, but it can sound a bit less idiomatic than можно for asking permission)

A very natural alternative is: Можно мне оставить чемодан у входа? (Is it OK for me to leave…?)

What word order is most natural here? Can I move parts around?

The given order is very natural. Russian word order is flexible, but changes emphasis:

• Можно оставить чемодан у входа? (neutral)
• Можно у входа оставить чемодан? (emphasizes location a bit)
• Чемодан можно оставить у входа? (focuses on the suitcase: “As for the suitcase, can it be left…?”)

How do I pronounce it—where is the stress?

Common stresses: МОжно остА́вить чемодА́н у вхО́да?
Notes:

• можно starts with a stressed МО-
• оставить stress is usually -А́-: остА́вить
• чемодан stress is -А́-: чемодА́н
• входа stress is вхО́да

In a question, intonation typically rises near the end.