Кошик стоїть біля прилавка.

Because біля requires the genitive case.

• Dictionary form: прилавок = counter, sales counter
• After біля (near, by), it changes to genitive singular:
  • прилавок → прилавка

So:

• біля прилавка = near the counter

This is a very common pattern in Ukrainian:

• біля столу = near the table
• біля вікна = near the window
• біля магазину = near the shop

Стоїть is the 3rd person singular present tense form of стояти (to stand).

So the forms are like:

• я стою = I stand / am standing
• ти стоїш = you stand
• він / вона / воно стоїть = he / she / it stands
• вони стоять = they stand

In this sentence, the subject is кошик, which is singular, so Ukrainian uses стоїть.

Ukrainian often uses a position verb where English might simply say is.

So instead of:

• The basket is by the counter

Ukrainian naturally says something closer to:

• The basket stands by the counter

This is very common with objects:

• Книга лежить на столі. = The book is on the table.
  (literally: lies on the table)
• Шафа стоїть біля стіни. = The wardrobe is by the wall.
  (literally: stands by the wall)

These verbs describe how something is situated:

• стояти = stand
• лежати = lie
• висіти = hang

Often, yes, стояти suggests an upright or normal standing position. But in everyday Ukrainian, it is also widely used for objects that are simply located somewhere, especially containers, furniture, or things resting in their normal position.

So with кошик, стоїть sounds natural.

A learner should think:

• not always “standing on legs”
• more like “is standing / is placed / is sitting there” in its normal position

Кошик is masculine.

You can often tell because many masculine nouns in Ukrainian end in a consonant in the dictionary form:

• кошик
• стіл
• магазин

It matters because verbs in the past tense and adjectives must agree with the noun’s gender.

In the present tense here, стоїть does not visibly change for masculine vs feminine vs neuter singular:

• кошик стоїть
• сумка стоїть
• відро стоїть

But gender is still an important property of the noun.

Ukrainian has no articles like English a / an / the.

So:

• кошик can mean a basket or the basket
• прилавка can mean a counter or the counter

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is why one Ukrainian sentence can be translated into English in different ways:

• A basket is by the counter
• The basket is by the counter

Both can be correct depending on the situation.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Кошик стоїть біля прилавка.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Біля прилавка стоїть кошик.
• Стоїть кошик біля прилавка.

These versions can shift the focus or emphasis:

• Біля прилавка стоїть кошик. emphasizes the location more strongly.
• Кошик стоїть біля прилавка. is a straightforward neutral statement.

Even though word order can change, the case endings help show the relationships between the words.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

KOH-shyk sto-YIT BEE-lya pry-LAHV-ka

A few helpful notes:

• ко in кошик sounds like ko
• ш sounds like English sh
• ї in стоїть is pronounced like yi
• біля has a soft л sound: BEE-lya
• stress:
  • ко́шик
  • стої́ть
  • бі́ля
  • прила́вка

The combination ї is especially important: it is not the same as і.

Both can mean near / beside / by, but they are used a little differently.

• біля
  • genitive
    • біля прилавка
• поруч з
  • instrumental
    • поруч з прилавком

Both are natural, but:

• біля is very common and straightforward
• поруч з can feel a bit more like next to / beside

So these are both possible:

• Кошик стоїть біля прилавка.
• Кошик стоїть поруч з прилавком.

But the noun changes differently because the prepositions require different cases.

Yes, in standard Ukrainian, біля takes the genitive.

Examples:

• біля будинку = near the house
• біля дверей = near the door
• біля річки = near the river

So once you learn біля, it is a good habit to automatically expect a genitive form after it.

Here are the dictionary forms:

• кошик → dictionary form кошик
• стоїть → dictionary form стояти
• біля → dictionary form біля (prepositions do not change like nouns or verbs)
• прилавка → dictionary form прилавок

This is useful because when you look words up, you usually need the dictionary form:

• nouns: nominative singular
• verbs: infinitive

Grammatically, є exists in Ukrainian, but in a sentence like this it is usually not needed and would sound unnatural or overly marked.

Natural Ukrainian says:

• Кошик стоїть біля прилавка.

or, in some contexts:

• Кошик біля прилавка.

In present-tense statements of location or identity, Ukrainian very often omits an equivalent of English is.

So for a learner, the safest natural choice here is:

• Кошик стоїть біля прилавка.

Its main meaning is basket, but depending on context it can sometimes refer to a shopping basket or a small basket/container.

For example:

• in a shop: probably a shopping basket
• in a home: perhaps an ordinary basket
• in a digital context: sometimes кошик can also mean cart / basket / trash-style container, depending on the phrase

So the exact image comes from context, even though the core word is the same.