Ставить/поставить

by Don  

The verb ставить/поставить means ‘to put,’ and specifically it means to put something somewhere in a vertical position. It conjugates like this:

Imperfective Perfective
Infinitive ставить поставить
Past ставил
ставила
ставило
ставили
поставил
поставила
поставило
поставили
Present ставлю
ставишь
ставит
ставим
ставите
ставят
No such thing as
perfective present
in Russian.
Future буду ставить
будешь ставить
будет ставить
будем ставить
будете ставить
будут ставить
поставлю
поставишь
поставит
поставим
поставите
поставят
Imperative ставь(те) поставь(те)

The item you move is the direct object of the verb. But what about the place where you put the item? That is actually a bit complicated. If you are putting an item on a flat surface, then use на + accusative.

Игорь поставил бутылку на стол. Igor put the bottle on the table.
Вера поставила будильник на полку. Vera put the alarm clock on the shelf.

If you are putting something into another relatively small item, then use в + accusative.

Мы поставили джем в холодильник. We put the jam in the refrigerator.
Я рассеянно поставил чашку чая в шкаф. I absent-mindedly put a cup of tea in the cupboard.

However, if you are putting something in a room of your apartment, though, use в + prepositional. (Кухня is a на word, so for it you can use на + prepositional as well.)

Мы поставили новый диван в гостиной. We put the new couch in the living room.
Я поставлю новую кровать в спальне сына. I’ll put the new bed in my son’s room.
Мы поставим новую стиральную машину в ванной. We will put the new washing machine in the bathroom.
Поставь холодильник на кухне. Put the refrigerator in the kitchen.

5 comments

Comment from: Doubleabsenty [Visitor]

Дон, какая радость снова читать Ваш блог! С возвращением.

01/06/14 @ 16:06
Comment from: alex spain [Visitor]

it’s great this blogsite works again….one of my favourites to practise my russian)))

08/21/13 @ 23:25
Comment from: Richard [Visitor]

Great to see you posting again! This is easily one of the best online resources for learning Russian!

08/21/13 @ 08:29
Comment from: Clifton [Visitor]  

What a nice surprise to see a new entry here! I had resigned myself to seeing chocolate potatoes whenever I checked back. I spent the last year in Astana, and шоколадная картошка was often available in our cafeteria.

08/20/13 @ 10:40
Comment from: Mark Sowul [Visitor]  

С возвращением!

08/20/13 @ 01:44


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