Breakdown of Мне нужно, чтобы камера стояла здесь.
здесь
here
мне
to me
нужно
it is necessary
стоять
to stand
Questions & Answers about Мне нужно, чтобы камера стояла здесь.
Why is the past tense verb стояла used when the translation is 'to stand'?
When you express a wish or a need for something to happen, Russian uses чтобы followed by a past tense verb. Even though you are talking about what you need right now, the word чтобы forces the verb into the past tense (стояла). Also, since камера is a feminine noun, the verb gets the feminine ending -ла.
Why does the sentence start with Мне нужно instead of Я?
In Russian, the concept of needing something is often expressed with an impersonal structure. Мне is the dative case of я (to me), and нужно means 'necessary'. So, it literally translates as 'To me it is necessary', which is why you cannot use the standard subject pronoun я.
Why use стояла (stood) instead of a word for 'to be' like была?
While you could say чтобы камера была здесь (for the camera to be here), Russian prefers to describe exactly how an object is positioned. Since a camera (especially on a tripod or resting on its base) sits upright, Russians say it 'stands'. If it were flat on its side, you would use the verb for 'lies' (лежала).
Is the comma before чтобы strictly necessary?