Breakdown of В спальне висел старый абажур, и свет от него был слишком жёлтым.
в
in
быть
to be
и
and
старый
old
Questions & Answers about В спальне висел старый абажур, и свет от него был слишком жёлтым.
Why is it в спальне, not в спальню?
Because в can mean either in or into, depending on the case:
- в спальне = in the bedroom → location, so спальня goes into the prepositional case
- в спальню = into the bedroom → movement/destination, so it takes the accusative case
Here the sentence describes where something was, not movement, so в спальне is correct.
Why does the sentence say висел instead of just был?
Висел comes from висеть, meaning to hang. Russian often uses very specific position verbs where English might just use was:
- стоять = to stand
- лежать = to lie
- висеть = to hang
So в спальне висел старый абажур is more vivid than simply saying it was there. It tells you the lampshade was hanging.
Why is the word order в спальне висел старый абажур instead of старый абажур висел в спальне?
Russian word order is much freer than English word order. Both are possible, but they feel slightly different.
- В спальне висел старый абажур starts with the setting: in the bedroom...
- Старый абажур висел в спальне starts with the object: the old lampshade...
The version in the sentence sounds natural for description or scene-setting, almost like: In the bedroom there hung an old lampshade.