Малина у забора уже растёт, а яблоня пока ещё стоит без цветов.

to grow

Breakdown of Малина у забора уже растёт, а яблоня пока ещё стоит без цветов.

• стоять: to stand
• у: by
• цветок: the flower

Questions & Answers about Малина у забора уже растёт, а яблоня пока ещё стоит без цветов.

Why is у забора in the genitive? What exactly does у mean here?

In this sentence, у means by / near / next to.

The preposition у requires the genitive case, so:

• забор = fence
• у забора = by the fence / near the fence

This is very common in Russian:

• у дома = by the house
• у окна = by the window
• у дороги = by the road

So Малина у забора means The raspberry bush / raspberry plant by the fence.

Why is it малина and not some form meaning raspberries?

Russian малина can mean more than just the fruit raspberries. Depending on context, it can also refer to the raspberry plant / raspberry bush / raspberry patch.

Here, because the sentence says растёт (is growing) and gives a location (у забора), the word is understood as the plant, not the berries themselves.

So in context:

• малина = raspberry plant / raspberry bushes as a kind of plant

Russian often uses a singular noun this way when speaking about a plant type in a general or collective sense.

Why is the verb растёт singular?

Because the subject is grammatically singular.