Breakdown of Это маленькое гнездо находится в тени дерева.
дерево
tree
маленький
small
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
в
in / to (direction)
находиться
to be located
гнездо
nest
тень
shade
Questions & Answers about Это маленькое гнездо находится в тени дерева.
Is в тени an example of the special locative case we are learning about in this lesson?
Yes! While the current lesson focuses on masculine nouns taking a stressed -у (like в лесу), some feminine nouns ending in a soft sign also have a special locative case. For тень (shade), the standard prepositional case is те́ни (as in о те́ни, about the shade). But for physical location with в or на, the stress shifts to the ending to become в тени́.
Why use the verb находится instead of just leaving it out like we often do for the verb 'is'?
You can absolutely just say Это маленькое гнездо в тени дерева without a verb. However, Russian frequently uses находится (literally 'finds itself') to emphasize the physical location or placement of an object. It translates perfectly to 'is located' or 'is situated'.
What case is дерева in this sentence?
It is in the genitive case because it means 'of a tree'. The base word is дерево (a neuter noun). To show possession or relationship (the shade of a tree), the neuter -о ending changes to -а.
How can I tell the gender of тень?
Тень is feminine. Nouns ending in a soft sign (-ь) can be either masculine (like день) or feminine (like тень), and you generally have to memorize their gender. Because it is feminine, it belongs to the 3rd declension group and declines like ночь or дверь.
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