Questions & Answers about Аптека закрыта.
Why is there no word for "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" is almost always left out. Because of this, Аптека закрыта translates word-for-word as "Pharmacy closed", but it means "The pharmacy is closed."
Why does закрыта end in the letter "а"?
The word закрыта (closed) changes its ending to match the gender of the noun it describes. Since аптека is a feminine noun, we use the feminine ending -а. If we were talking about a masculine noun like a store (магазин), we would drop the "a" and say магазин закрыт.
How would I change аптека to say I am "in the pharmacy"?
Based on your current lesson about locations, you use the preposition в (in) and change the ending of the feminine noun from -а to -е to form the prepositional case. So, "in the pharmacy" becomes в аптеке.
Why is it закрыта instead of the standard dictionary form закрытая?
Закрыта is a "short-form" adjective. Russian often uses these short forms to state that a noun is currently in a certain state (as in "The pharmacy is closed."). You would use the regular long form to describe the noun directly, such as saying "a closed pharmacy" (закрытая аптека).
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