Questions & Answers about Стол около угла последней стены.
Why is the word for last spelled последней here?
It is in the genitive case to match the feminine noun стены (wall). For feminine adjectives, the genitive ending is usually -ой. However, because последний is a "soft-stem" adjective, the ending changes from -ой to -ей.
Why are so many words in this sentence in the genitive case?
There are two different triggers for the genitive case here. First, the preposition около (near) always requires the word immediately following it to be in the genitive, which gives us угла (from угол). Second, the phrase "of the last wall" shows a relationship that is expressed in Russian by putting последняя стена into the genitive case, becoming последней стены.
The word for corner is угол, so why does it become угла instead of угола?
The word угол has a "fleeting vowel." This means the о in the final syllable drops out when you add a grammatical ending. So, instead of угола, the о disappears, leaving us with угла in the genitive case.
Is стены plural (walls) or singular (of the wall)?