Breakdown of У входа небольшое крыльцо, и на этом крыльце часто сидит старая кошка.
кошка
the cat
сидеть
to sit
и
and
на
on
Questions & Answers about У входа небольшое крыльцо, и на этом крыльце часто сидит старая кошка.
Why does the sentence start with у входа? What case is входа?
У входа means by the entrance / at the entrance.
After the preposition у, Russian normally uses the genitive case, so:
- вход = entrance
- у входа = by the entrance
This structure is very common for location near something:
- у дома = by the house
- у окна = by the window
- у двери = by the door
So входа is the genitive singular of вход.
Why is there no verb in У входа небольшое крыльцо?
In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.
So where English says:
- There is a small porch by the entrance
Russian often simply says:
- У входа небольшое крыльцо
The idea of is / there is is understood automatically.
If you wanted the past or future, Russian would use a form of быть:
- У входа было небольшое крыльцо = There was a small porch by the entrance
- У входа будет небольшое крыльцо = There will be a small porch by the entrance
Why is it небольшое крыльцо and not небольшой крыльцо?