Я сушу кроссовки на балконе после дождя.

I am drying my sneakers on the balcony after the rain.

Breakdown of Я сушу кроссовки на балконе после дождя.

• я: I
• на: on
• дождь: the rain
• после: after

Questions & Answers about Я сушу кроссовки на балконе после дождя.

Why is it сушу, and what verb is this?

Сушу is the 1st person singular present tense form of сушить — to dry something.

So:

• я сушу = I dry / I am drying
• ты сушишь = you dry
• он/она сушит = he/she dries

A very important point: сушить is usually used when someone is drying something else.

Compare:

• Я сушу кроссовки. = I am drying the sneakers.
• Кроссовки сохнут. = The sneakers are drying / drying by themselves.

So сушить is transitive, while сохнуть is more like to get dry / to dry out.

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Why is кроссовки in this form? Shouldn’t the object change case?

It is in the correct object case: accusative plural.

The noun is:

• singular: кроссовка
• plural: кроссовки

In Russian, for inanimate plural nouns, the accusative is usually the same as the nominative.

So:

• nominative plural: кроссовки
• accusative plural: кроссовки

That is why you see:

• Я сушу кроссовки. = I am drying the sneakers.