На полке стояли уксус и майонез, а я долго думала, что добавить в салат.

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Breakdown of На полке стояли уксус и майонез, а я долго думала, что добавить в салат.

• в: to
• стоять: to stand
• и: and

Questions & Answers about На полке стояли уксус и майонез, а я долго думала, что добавить в салат.

Why is стояли plural if уксус and майонез are both singular nouns?

Because they form a compound subject: уксус и майонез = vinegar and mayonnaise.

In Russian, when two singular nouns are joined by и and together act as the subject, the verb is usually plural:

• уксус и майонез стояли = vinegar and mayonnaise were standing

So even though each noun is singular by itself, together they require стояли, not стоял.

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Why does Russian use стояли here instead of just были?

Russian often prefers a more specific verb of position instead of a general verb like to be.

• стоять = to stand
• лежать = to lie
• висеть = to hang

So На полке стояли уксус и майонез literally suggests that the vinegar and mayonnaise were standing on the shelf. In natural English we might simply say there were vinegar and mayonnaise on the shelf, but Russian often describes the physical position.

Also, even though уксус and майонез are technically substances, the sentence really refers to their containers (a bottle of vinegar, a jar/tube of mayonnaise), and those containers are thought of as standing.

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What case is , and why?