How to describe a room or adverbs of place in Russian

Foreigners often face wh-question word or question which begins with the word: "Где?" (Where?). It implies an answer referring to a location of something or its description. Today we are going to try to describe a room. I have already written about colors in the Russian language, that's why you can use that information for more detailed description. Along with adjectives, we often use adverbs of place for more detailed description. Let's look at main ones:

1. Здесь [Zdes'] - Here
2. Тут [Tut] - Here
3. Там [Tam] - There
4. Справа [Sprava] - On the left
5. Слева [Sleva] - On the right
6. Рядом [Ryadam] - Near
7. Посередине [Pas'ir'id'in'e] - In the middle
8. Напротив [Naprotif] - Opposite

Let's make up a simple sentence in order to answer the question "Где?" ("Where?"):
Здесь стоит жёлтый стол [Zdes' stait zhyoltyj stol] - There is a yellow table.

(the word "Здесь" is an adverb, "Стоит" – predicate/verb, "Жёлтый" – attribute/adjective, "Стол" – subject/noun in this sentence.) The noun "Стол" belongs to masculine gender and has "zero inflexion", that's why the adjective "Жёлтый" has the inflexion "ЫЙ" that refers it to masculine gender. Let's look at similar examples with the usage of other adverbs:

Слева стоит белая кровать [Sleva stait belaya kravat'] (A white bed is on the left) – adverb "Слева" indicates the place, where the bed is sutuated.

When you answer the questions which begin with wh-question words "Что?" (What?) and "Где?" (Where?), you should recall word order of a sentence. I would like to mention one interesting thing, there are no strict rules about the location of parts of speech in a sentence in the Russian language. Of course, strict rules also exist but, for example, you can put nouns (subjects and objects) in the beginning of a sentence as well as in the end of it. The same concerns adverbs of place. For instance:

1. Что? (What?)	2. Где? (Where?)
Картина	Тут

Картина тут [Kartina tut] (A picture is here) – in this case, the adverb "тут" is situated in the end of the sentence.

1. Где?	2. Что?
Тут	Картина

Тут картина [Tut kartina] (Here is a picture) – in this case, the adverb "тут" is situated in the beginning of the sentence.

The meaning of the sentence does not change, but when you answer a question, it is better to put an adverb of place and nouns (subjects and objects) in the end of a sentence. Thus, a sentence is constructed correctly and perceived easily by a Russian-speaking person. For instance,

- Что находится рядом? [Shto nakhoditsa ryadam?] - What is near?
- Рядом находится больница [Ryadam nakhoditsa bol'nitsa] There is a hospital near it.

Adverb in a question is situated in the end, then we put it in answer in the first place.

- Наш дом напротив магазина [Nash dom naprotif magazina] - Our house is opposite the shop.
- А где магазин? [A gde magazin?] And where is the shop?

The same concerns a noun (subject/object) – we put it in the end of a question and in the beginning of an answer.

Some questions for practice. Try to take into consideration all nuances and answer all questions correctly in order to describe your own room with several sentences, using adverbs and adjectives (colors).

Где стоит стол? [Gde stait stol?] - Where is the table?
Какого цвета стол" [Kakova tsveta stol] - What color is it?
Где находится кровать? [Gde nakhoditsa kravat'] - Where is the bed?
Где окно? [Gde akno?] - Where is the window?
Какого цвета занавеска? [Kakova tsveta zanaveska] - What is the color of a curtain?