Под ногами тихо шуршит сухая листва.

quietly

Breakdown of Под ногами тихо шуршит сухая листва.

• под: under
• нога: the foot
• сухой: dry

Questions & Answers about Под ногами тихо шуршит сухая листва.

Why is it под ногами and not под ноги?

Because под can take different cases depending on the meaning:

• под + accusative = movement to under something
  
  • положить под стол = to put under the table
• под + instrumental = location under something
  
  • лежать под столом = to lie under the table

In Под ногами тихо шуршит сухая листва, there is no movement to a place. The leaves are already rustling underfoot, so Russian uses the instrumental:

• под ногами = under the feet / underfoot

So под ноги would suggest motion toward that position, which is not the idea here.

Why is ногами in the instrumental plural?

The base noun is нога (leg, foot depending on context). Here Russian uses the plural ноги because the expression means under one’s feet in a general sense.

After под in a location meaning, the noun goes into the instrumental case:

• ноги → ногами

So:

• под ногами = under the feet / underfoot

This is a very common idiomatic expression in Russian.