Breakdown of На подоконнике уже стоят ваза и рамка с нашей семейной фотографией.
с
with
стоять
to stand
и
and
на
on
Questions & Answers about На подоконнике уже стоят ваза и рамка с нашей семейной фотографией.
Why is it на подоконнике and not just подоконник?
Because на means on, and after a preposition Russian nouns usually change form.
Here на answers the question where?, so it takes the prepositional case for location:
- подоконник = windowsill
- на подоконнике = on the windowsill
So the ending changes because the noun is part of the phrase on the windowsill, not just standing alone.
Why does подоконник become подоконнике?
This is the prepositional singular form of a masculine noun.
For many masculine nouns ending in a consonant, the prepositional singular often ends in -е:
- стол → на столе
- город → в городе
- подоконник → на подоконнике
So подоконнике is just the correct case form after на when talking about location.
Why is the verb стоят plural?