На столе уже стоит большая салатница, потому что гости вот-вот придут.

Because this sentence describes location, not movement.

• на стол = onto the table (direction, motion toward a place)
• на столе = on the table (static location)

Here, the salad bowl is already there, so Russian uses на + the prepositional case:

• стол → на столе

A useful comparison:

• Поставь салатницу на стол. = Put the salad bowl onto the table.
• Салатница стоит на столе. = The salad bowl is on the table.

Russian often prefers a verb that shows an object's position.

• стоит = is standing
• лежит = is lying
• висит = is hanging

So салатница стоит на столе sounds natural because a bowl placed upright on a table is thought of as standing.

Why not the others?

• есть is usually not used the same way English uses there is in ordinary location sentences.
• находится is grammatical, but more formal or neutral, and less natural in everyday speech here.

So:

• На столе стоит большая салатница. = natural everyday Russian
• На столе находится большая салатница. = possible, but more formal/stiff

Usually, no—not in the normal situation.

A salad bowl sitting upright on a table is typically said to stand in Russian:

• Салатница стоит на столе.

You would use лежит only if it were physically lying on its side or placed in a way Russians conceptualize as lying down.

This is one of those places where Russian and English differ: English often uses is, while Russian more often chooses a position verb.

Because the adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here, салатница is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative (it is the subject)

So the adjective большой changes to the feminine nominative singular form:

• большой → большая

That gives:

• большая салатница

A few comparisons:

• большой стол = a big table
• большая салатница = a big salad bowl
• большое окно = a big window
• большие тарелки = big plates

Салатница means salad bowl.

It is a specific noun, not just any bowl. It usually refers to a bowl used for serving salad.

Related words:

• салат = salad
• салатница = salad bowl
• миска = bowl, basin
• тарелка = plate

So салатница is a natural word here because the sentence suggests a table setting for guests.

Уже means already.

It shows that something has happened sooner than expected or is already in place by this moment:

• На столе уже стоит большая салатница = The big salad bowl is already on the table.

Its position is flexible, but placing it before the verb is very natural.

Compare:

• На столе уже стоит большая салатница.
• Большая салатница уже стоит на столе.

Both are possible; the difference is mainly in focus and word order, not basic meaning.

Вот-вот means something like:

• any moment now
• very soon
• just about to

So:

• гости вот-вот придут = the guests will arrive any moment now

It expresses imminence—the action is expected very soon.

You can think of it as stronger and more immediate than just скоро (soon).

Compare:

• Гости скоро придут. = The guests will come soon.
• Гости вот-вот придут. = The guests are about to arrive any minute.

Because the sentence refers to a single future arrival, and Russian uses the perfective future for that.

• придут is the future form of прийти = to arrive, to come
• It means the guests will arrive

Why not the others?

• приходят is present tense of the imperfective verb приходить. It can sometimes talk about repeated action or scheduled events, but here вот-вот strongly suggests one imminent arrival.
• будут приходить means will be coming / will come repeatedly, which does not fit this context.

So вот-вот придут is the natural choice for they’ll arrive any moment now.

Гости is the nominative plural form of гость (guest).

It is plural because there is more than one guest, and it is nominative because it is the subject of придут.

• singular: гость
• plural: гости

So:

• гости придут = the guests will arrive

Also notice that the verb agrees with the plural subject:

• гость придёт = the guest will arrive
• гости придут = the guests will arrive

Yes, Russian word order is relatively flexible.

The sentence begins with На столе to set the scene first:

• On the table, there is already a big salad bowl.

That sounds very natural because the speaker is drawing attention to what is on the table.

Other possible word orders include:

• Большая салатница уже стоит на столе.
• Уже на столе стоит большая салатница.

These are all grammatical, but the focus changes:

• starting with На столе emphasizes the location
• starting with Большая салатница emphasizes the object

So the original word order is natural and context-friendly.

Because потому что introduces a subordinate clause:

• На столе уже стоит большая салатница, потому что гости вот-вот придут.

The second part gives the reason:

• because the guests are about to arrive

In Russian, subordinate clauses introduced by потому что are normally separated by a comma.

Yes, потому что is the standard, very common way to say because in Russian.

Examples:

• Я ушёл, потому что устал. = I left because I was tired.
• Мы готовим ужин, потому что скоро придут гости. = We’re making dinner because guests will arrive soon.

There are other ways to express cause, but потому что is the most straightforward one for learners.

Because Russian has no articles like a and the.

So Russian simply says:

• на столе
• большая салатница
• гости

Whether something is the table or a table is understood from context.

In this sentence, the context clearly makes them definite in English:

• the table
• the big salad bowl
• the guests

But Russian does not mark that with separate words.

The main stresses are:

• на столе́
• уже́
• стои́т
• больша́я
• салáтница
• потому́ что
• го́сти
• вот-вот
• приду́т

A rough pronunciation guide:

• na sta-LYE
• oo-ZHE
• sta-EET
• bal-SHA-ya
• sa-LAT-ni-tsa
• pa-ta-MOO chto
• GOS-ti
• vot-vot
• pree-DOOT

Stress matters a lot in Russian, so it is worth learning each new word together with its stress.