Готовый ужин стоит на столе.

Готовый is the full form of the adjective, and here it is used before a noun: готовый ужин = ready dinner / a ready meal.

Готов is the short form, and it is normally used as a predicate, not directly before a noun:

• Ужин готов. = The dinner is ready.

So:

• готовый ужин = the ready dinner / the prepared dinner
• ужин готов = the dinner is ready

In this sentence, готовый describes ужин as part of the noun phrase.

Because it agrees with ужин, which is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative case

Russian adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.

So:

• masculine singular nominative: готовый
• feminine singular nominative: готовая
• neuter singular nominative: готовое
• plural nominative: готовые

Since ужин is masculine singular nominative, готовый is the correct form.

Ужин is in the nominative singular.

It is the subject of the sentence — the thing that is standing / sitting / placed on the table.

The sentence structure is basically:

• Готовый ужин = subject
• стоит = verb
• на столе = location

So ужин is the noun doing the action of standing / being there, which is why it is nominative.

Yes, стоит literally means stands, but in Russian it is also commonly used for objects that are positioned somewhere.

So Готовый ужин стоит на столе literally feels like:

• The ready dinner is standing on the table

But in natural English it usually means:

• The dinner is on the table
• The ready dinner is sitting on the table

Russian often uses:

• стоять for things in an upright or set position
• лежать for things lying flat
• висеть for things hanging

With food, dishes, bottles, plates, and meals, стоять is very common if they are set out on a surface.

Because на столе expresses location, while на стол expresses motion toward the table.

After на:

• на + prepositional = on somewhere
• на + accusative = onto somewhere

Compare:

• Ужин стоит на столе. = The dinner is on the table.
• Поставь ужин на стол. = Put the dinner onto the table.

So here, since the dinner is already there, Russian uses на столе.

Столе is the prepositional singular of стол.

The dictionary form is:

• стол = table

After на when it means location, Russian uses the prepositional case, so:

• на столе = on the table

This is a normal noun ending change:

• nominative: стол
• prepositional: о столе / на столе

Many masculine nouns add -е in the prepositional singular.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, and changing it changes the focus or emphasis, not usually the basic meaning.

For example:

• Готовый ужин стоит на столе.
  Neutral: The ready dinner is on the table.

• На столе стоит готовый ужин.
  Emphasizes the location: On the table there is a ready dinner.

• Стоит на столе готовый ужин.
  More literary or marked; often used for style or emphasis.

The original order is natural and neutral.

No. Russian has no articles like the or a/an.

So ужин can mean:

• dinner
• the dinner
• a dinner

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English will usually choose the dinner or just dinner, depending on the situation.

It can correspond to dinner or supper, depending on context and the speaker’s habits.

In Russian:

• завтрак = breakfast
• обед = lunch / dinner
• ужин = dinner / supper / evening meal

So ужин is specifically the evening meal, but the best English translation may vary.

The stress is:

• готОвый
• Ужин
• стоИт
• на столЕ

So with stress marks:

Гото́вый у́жин стои́т на столе́.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• гото́вый ≈ ga-TOV-y
• у́жин ≈ OO-zhin
• стои́т ≈ sta-EET
• на столе́ ≈ na sta-LYE

As usual in Russian, unstressed о is reduced in pronunciation.

Not with the same meaning.

• Ужин готов. = The dinner is ready.
• Ужин на столе. = The dinner is on the table.
• Готовый ужин стоит на столе. = The ready dinner is on the table.

Ужин готов на столе sounds unnatural because it mixes ready and on the table in a way Russian normally would not express like that.

If you want both ideas, better options are:

• Ужин готов и стоит на столе. = Dinner is ready and is on the table.
• Готовый ужин стоит на столе. = The ready dinner is on the table.