"Die Milch steht auf dem Tisch."

[lost1016]

How come one of the options for "Steht" in this question is "Written on"?

[endless_sleeper]

one of the meanings of stehen, in this case 'be present in a specific place in written or printed form' + preposition auf = 'on'

[chen247935]

Can the "auf" come at the end of the sentence?

[Ly_Mar]

No, it can't. ‘Auf’ and other prepositions can go at the end of the sentence when acting as separable prefixes for a verb (for example ‘ich stehe auf’, ‘I stand up’, from the separable verb ‘aufstehen’). Here ‘auf’ is acting as a preposition, introducing ‘Tisch’.

To illustrate the point in English, think of the different ways ‘in’ acts in ‘I stood in for him’ (‘in’ isn't introducing a noun, it's just part of the phrasal verb ‘to stand in (for s/o)’) and ‘I am standing in the room’ (‘in’ is a preposition introducing ‘the room’).

[chen247935]

Thanks!