Translating to put and to be into Russian is not as straightforward as one might’ve hoped. That’s because Russian speakers are more specific when expressing to put and to be.
In fact, there are 3 key verb pairs you need to know in order to master this concept.
Before proceeding, here is what you need to know.
The verb on the left is used to describe the position of an object. It answers the question где? therefore its location will be in the prepositional case.
| Конфета лежит на подушке. The candy is on [lying] the pillow. |
The verb on the right, however, is used to describe how the item was placed. It answers the question куда? therefore its location will be in the accusative case.
| Я положил конфету на подушку. I put the candy [laid it] on the pillow. |
Easy? If not, look at the tables below.
| to be [in a vertical position] ^ | to place, to put [in a vertical position] ^ |
| где? | куда? |
| стоять [на столе, на полу, на полке, в вазе, в комнате] [verb without motion: ] | ставить [по-] [на стол, на пол, на полку, в вазу, в комнату] [verb with motion: ] |
Confused? Let’s clarify with some examples:
| Маша поставила розы [куда?] в красную вазу. Masha put the roses [in an upright position] in a red vase. |
| Разноцветные розы стоят [где?] в стеклянном вазе. The multicolored roses are [in an upright position] in the glass vase. |
| Поставили новый шкаф [куда?] в детскую. They put the new wardrobe [in an upright position] in the nursery. |
| Think about what can stand: vases, cups, [drinking] glasses, roses [if in a vase], etc. Furniture can stand too. Anything that is usually in an upright position. |
| to be [in a horizontal position] ^ | to place, to put [in a horizontal position] ^ |
| где? | куда? |
| лежать [на столе, на полу, на полке, в вазе, в ящике] [verb without motion: ] | класть [положить] [на стол, на пол, на полку, в вазу, в ящик] [verb with motion: ] |
Confused? Let’s clarify with some examples:
| На столе лежали [где?] старые журналы. There were old magazines [in a horizontal position] on the table. |
| Папа положил сегодняшнюю газету [куда?] на стол и вышел попить. Dad put today’s newspaper on the table and stepped out for a drink. |
| Он кладёт телефон [куда?] в карман и слушает лекцию. He puts his phone in his pocket and listens to the lecture. |
| Think about what can lie: eyeglasses, pens, pencils, markers, paper, documents, articles of clothing, etc. Anything that is usually in a non-standing, lying position. |
| Some nuances to keep in mind. It is possible for a book or a rose to be in a horizontal position. If you place roses directly on a table without a vase, they obviously can’t stand, therefore you would use the verb класть [положить] and лежать to clarify. Я положил розы на стол. I put the roses on the table. [laid them down] Розы лежат на столе. The roses are on the table. [lying] With books, it’s easy. If the book is on a table, it’s usually lying. But what about on a shelf? It’s typically in a standing position to save space. So, if the book is lying, use лежать. If it’s on a shelf in an upright position, use стоять. |
| to be [in a hanging position] ^ | to place, to put [in a hanging position] ^ |
| где? | куда? |
| висеть [на стене, на двери, в шкафу] [verb without motion: ] | вешать [повесить] [на стену, на дверь, в шкаф] [verb with motion: ] |
Confused? Let’s clarify with some examples:
| Вася вешает семейные портреты [куда?] на стену. Vasya is hanging family portraits on the wall. |
| На двери висят [где?] мои плавки. My bathing suit is hanging on the door. |
| Дети повесили рисунки [куда?] на окна. The children hung drawings on the windows. |
Well, that’s enough for today’s post. There will be additional practice because this is a tricky thing to master.
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