Мальчик рисует в альбоме у окна.

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Breakdown of Мальчик рисует в альбоме у окна.

• у: by
• окно: the window
• рисовать: to draw

Questions & Answers about Мальчик рисует в альбоме у окна.

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

Russian does not have articles. So мальчик can mean the boy or a boy, depending on context.

The same is true for the other nouns:

• в альбоме = in the album / in an album / in the sketchbook
• у окна = by the window / by a window

Russian usually leaves definiteness to context rather than marking it with a separate word.

What case is мальчик, and why is it in that form?

Мальчик is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence — the person doing the action.

Here:

• мальчик = the boy
• рисует = is drawing / draws

So мальчик is the basic dictionary form of the noun.

What exactly does рисует mean?