Breakdown of В декабре на площади стоит высокая ёлка, и вечером там особенно красиво.
в
in
стоять
to stand
и
and
на
on
Questions & Answers about В декабре на площади стоит высокая ёлка, и вечером там особенно красиво.
Why is it в декабре?
Because Russian uses в + prepositional case for most months when meaning in a month.
- декабрь = December
- в декабре = in December
This is the prepositional singular form of декабрь.
Compare:
- в январе = in January
- в мае = in May
- в сентябре = in September
So В декабре simply means In December.
Why is it на площади, not в площади?
Russian usually uses на with open public spaces like squares, islands, bridges, stadiums, and similar locations.
So:
- на площади = in the square / on the square
Even though English says in the square, Russian normally says на площади.
This is also prepositional case after на:
- площадь → на площади
A few similar examples:
- на улице = on the street / in the street
- на стадионе = at the stadium
- на мосту = on the bridge
Why does Russian say стоит высокая ёлка? Why use instead of just ?