На столі лежить якийсь документ.

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Breakdown of На столі лежить якийсь документ.

• стіл: the table
• документ: the document
• лежати: to lie

Questions & Answers about На столі лежить якийсь документ.

What case is the word столі, and why is it used here?

It’s the Locative (prepositional) case, singular of стіл (table). With location prepositions like на (on) and в/у (in) that express “where?”, Ukrainian uses the Locative:

• Location: на столі (on the table)
• Motion onto: на стіл (onto the table) — that uses the Accusative

Why does the subject come after the verb (… лежить якийсь документ)?

Ukrainian often places an indefinite or new piece of information after the verb, especially in “there is/are”–type sentences. Putting the place first sets the scene: На столі (as for the table), then the verb and the new subject: лежить якийсь документ. You can also say Якийсь документ лежить на столі if you want to emphasize the document.

Why is it лежить and not лежать?

Agreement. Документ is singular, so the verb is 3rd person singular лежить. For plural you’d use лежать (see below for the plural sentence).

Can I use є instead of лежить (like “there is”)?