Breakdown of На столе нет компьютера.
стол
table / desk
компьютер
computer
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
нет
there is no / is not present
Questions & Answers about На столе нет компьютера.
Why does the word for computer end in -а here?
Because of the word нет. In Russian, when you use нет to say that something is not there, the missing object must be in the Genitive case. Since компьютер is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, we add -а to make it компьютера.
Why is it На столе instead of just На стол?
This is a quick reminder of the Prepositional case! When you are describing where something is located (using words like "in" or "on"), you add an -е to most masculine nouns. So стол (table) becomes на столе (on the table).
Does нет just mean "no" like when answering a question?
It is the same word, but here it acts as a verb meaning "there is no" or "is not present". It is the direct opposite of есть (there is). Whenever нет is used this way, it forces the following noun into the Genitive case.
Why isn't there a word for "there" in the Russian sentence?
English uses "there is" or "there are" as a grammatical placeholder. Russian does not need this. You simply state the location (На столе), the word for absence (нет), and the missing item (компьютера).
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