???‚?????‚??: to stand
Lying on my couch with my dog sitting by my side, time seems to stand still as I continue to contemplate Russian stance verbs — ???‚?????‚?? (to stand), ???????µ?‚?? (to sit) and ?»?µ?¶?°?‚?? (to lie).
The good news is that some things stand and lie just like their English counterparts. That is, if you lean a painting against a wall, you could say in Russian: ???°?€?‚?????° ???‚?????‚ ?? ???‚?µ???‹ (the painting is next to the wall). But if you lay the painting down on a table, you could say: ???°?€?‚?????° ?»?µ?¶???‚ ???° ???‚???»?µ (the painting is lying on the table). Books placed flat on a desk ?»?µ?¶?°?‚ (lie), while books placed upright on a shelf ???‚?????‚ (stand).
But, of course, there's bad news.
Some categories of objects always "stand" in Russian. At the top of the list are containers. If an object is designed to hold something, it stands. So ???°?·?° (a vase), ?‚?°?€?µ?»???° (plate), ?????°?‚???»???° (box), ?????????° (bowl) and ?‚?°?· (basin) ???‚?????‚ ???° ???‚???»?µ ("stand" on the table). It doesn't matter if the plate is flat or the jewelry box is longer than it is high. If they are positioned to carry out their containing duties — ???‚?????‚ (they stand).
Perhaps because ?‚???„?»?? (shoes), ?±???‚???????? (low boots) and ???°???????? (high boots) hold feet, they also stand. ?“???µ ?±???‚????????? ?????? ???‚?????‚ ?? ?????€???????€?µ. (Where are your boots? They're in the hallway.)
Think of ???‚?????‚?? as the default verb for these objects. When they are ready for action — standing upright, ready to hold something — ?????? ???‚?????‚ (they stand). But if they are not ready for action — if they are lying on their side, upside down, broken or piled up willy-nilly — ?????? ?»?µ?¶?°?‚ (they lie). ???°?€?µ?»???° ?»?µ?¶???‚ ???° ???‚???»?µ would mean that the plate is somehow oddly placed on the table.
In a mini focus group of native speakers, they interpreted ?‚?°?€?µ?»???° ?»?µ?¶???‚ as lying upside down, broken, or all jumbled after a party. ???°???????? ?»?µ?¶?°?‚ ???° ?????»?? would mean: The boots are tipped over and lying on the floor.
In boxes, things always seem to lie: ?????? ?‡?‘?€???‹?µ ?‚???„?»?? ?»?µ?¶?°?‚ ?? ?????€???±???µ ?? ???°?€???µ?€???±?µ (My black shoes are in a box in the closet).
But objects on display usually stand. ???‚?°?‚?????‚???° ???‹?????? ???‚?????‚ ???° ?±???„?µ?‚?µ (The mouse figurine is standing on the sideboard).
In the animal kingdom, creatures can be divided into three categories. When small scurrying creatures with legs you barely see are immobile, they "sit." Large creatures with visible legs "stand." ?›?????°???? ???‚?????‚ ?? ?????»?µ. (A horse is standing in the field.) ? ???????? ???‚?????‚ ?????€?????° (A cow is standing next to it). Dog and cats are in-between: They can stand, sit and lie — preferably on command, of course.
When time, weather conditions or water stop moving, they "stand" in Russian. This is easy for English speakers to remember, since when time isn't running out, it's standing still, and if the water doesn't run down your drain, you have a problem with standing water. ?’ ???????????µ ???‚?????‚ ?????€???·???°?? ???????????° (Moscow is having very cold weather). ?’ ?????????°?»?µ ???????‚?????????? ???‚?????‚ ???????° (There's always standing water in my basement). ???»?‘?·?‹ ???‚?????»?? ?? ???µ?‘ ?? ???»?°?·?°?… (Tears were in her eyes). ???°?¶?µ?‚????, ?‡?‚?? ???€?µ???? ???‚?????‚ ???° ???µ???‚?µ (It seems like time is standing still).
Or, in contrast, as you get older: ?’?€?µ???? ?±?µ?¶???‚ (Time is speeding by)!
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.
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