Фигурка из глины стоит на столе.

to stand

Breakdown of Фигурка из глины стоит на столе.

• стол: the table
• на: on
• из: of

Questions & Answers about Фигурка из глины стоит на столе.

What exactly does фигурка mean, and why isn’t it фигура?

Фигурка means figurine or small figure.

It comes from фигура (figure), but the suffix -к- makes it sound smaller and more object-like. So:

• фигура = figure, shape, body shape, figure in a general sense
• фигурка = a small figure, figurine, little statue

In this sentence, фигурка is the natural word because we are talking about a small object on a table.

What case is фигурка in?

Фигурка is in the nominative singular.

Why?

• It is the subject of the sentence.
• The verb стоит agrees with it: the figurine stands/is standing.

Also, фигурка is a feminine noun. Its dictionary form is already фигурка, so the nominative singular looks unchanged here.

Why is it из глины and not из глина?

Because the preposition из normally requires the genitive case.

So:

• глина = clay
• глины = of clay / from clay / clay in the genitive singular

That is why из глины means made of clay or literally from clay.

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

• из дерева = made of wood
• из металла = made of metal
• из стекла = made of glass