Телефон лежит на столе, а ключи рядом.

the phone

Breakdown of Телефон лежит на столе, а ключи рядом.

• стол: the table
• на: on
• лежать: to lie

Questions & Answers about Телефон лежит на столе, а ключи рядом.

Why is it Телефон, not телефон with an article like the phone?

Russian has no articles like a/an or the. So телефон can mean a phone or the phone, depending on context.

At the start of the sentence it is capitalized simply because it is the first word: Телефон лежит на столе.

Why is лежит used here? Doesn’t it literally mean lies?

Yes, лежит literally means is lying or lies, but in Russian it is very natural to use verbs like this for the position of objects.

So:

• Телефон лежит на столе = The phone is lying on the table / The phone is on the table

Russian often prefers a position verb where English just uses is:

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

For many everyday objects, using these verbs sounds more natural than just saying they are somewhere.

Why is it лежит and not лежат?