Курица ест зерно во дворе.

The hen is eating grain in the yard.

Breakdown of Курица ест зерно во дворе.

• есть: to eat
• двор: the yard
• во: in
• курица: the hen

Questions & Answers about Курица ест зерно во дворе.

Why is курица in that form?

Because курица is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

• Dictionary form: курица
• Meaning here: a chicken / hen
• Gender: feminine
• Number: singular

So Курица ест... literally means The chicken eats...

Why is the verb ест and not есть?

Есть is the infinitive, meaning to eat.

In the sentence, we need a conjugated verb: eats.
So Russian uses ест, which is the 3rd person singular present tense form:

• я ем — I eat
• ты ешь — you eat
• он / она ест — he / she eats

Since курица is singular, ест is the correct form.

Is есть the same word as the Russian word meaning there is / are?