Breakdown of На столе есть компьютер, а принтера нет.
стол
table / desk
а
and (contrastive)
компьютер
computer
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
есть
is, there is, to have
нет
there is no / is not present
принтер
printer
Questions & Answers about На столе есть компьютер, а принтера нет.
Why does the word for "printer" have an "-a" at the end (принтера)?
This is the Genitive case. When you say that something does not exist or isn't there using the word нет, the thing that is missing must be in the Genitive case. принтер is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, so it takes an -a ending to become принтера.
Could I say нет принтера instead of принтера нет?
Yes, both are perfectly fine. Russian word order is flexible. Putting нет at the very end simply puts a bit more emphasis on the absence, pointing out that a printer is specifically what is not there.
Why is the word а used here for "but" instead of но?
Russian has two main words for "but". но is used for a direct contradiction or hurdle. а is used to contrast two different things, people, or subjects. Here, you are contrasting the computer (which is there) with the printer (which is not), so а is the natural choice.
Why does стол (table) become столе here?
This is a quick reminder of the Prepositional case. Because it answers the question "where?" (indicating location), we use на (on) followed by the Prepositional case form. For most masculine nouns like стол, you just add an -е to get на столе.
Learn На столе есть компьютер, а принтера нет and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free