Breakdown of В коробке нет подушки.
в
in / to (direction)
нет
there is no / is not present
коробка
box (cardboard)
подушка
pillow
Questions & Answers about В коробке нет подушки.
Wait, this lesson is about the genitive plural. Is подушки plural here?
No, подушки is in the genitive singular here, meaning "no pillow". Even though this lesson teaches the genitive plural, this sentence is a reminder that нет always requires the genitive case, singular or plural. If it meant "no pillows" (plural), it would use the genitive plural form you are learning now: подушек.
Why is it коробке instead of коробка?
Коробке is in the prepositional case because it follows the preposition в to show location ("in the box"). For most feminine nouns ending in -а, the prepositional case ending is -е.
Why does подушка change to подушки after нет instead of ending in -ы?
Normally, feminine nouns ending in -а change to -ы in the genitive singular. However, подушка ends in -ка. The Russian 7-letter spelling rule states you can never write the letter ы after к (as well as г, х, ш, ж, ч, щ). So, we must use -и instead.
How would I use the genitive plural from this lesson to say "There are no boxes"?
To say "There are no boxes", you need the genitive plural of коробка after нет. Just like подушка becomes подушек, коробка drops its -а ending entirely (zero ending) and inserts an -о- between the consonants to make it easier to pronounce, becoming коробок. So, "There are no boxes" is Нет коробок.
Learn В коробке нет подушки 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