The Prepositional Case in Russian

When to use the Prepositional Case

The prepositional case is used with five prepositions: в, на, о, при and по.

Note that we use the prepositional case only with some meanings of the above prepositions.

For example, when we use в or на to talk about location, they should be followed by the prepositional case.

However, when в or на are used to talk about direction, they should be followed by the accusative case.

1) В and НА to talk about location

When talking about location, the preposition в means in or at. For example:

• Я в школе.
• (I’m at school)
• Она живёт в Америке.
• (She lives in America)

The preposition на means on or at. For example:

• Мы на работе.
• (We are at work)
• Яблоки на столе.
• (The apples are on the table)

2) НА to talk about means of transport

When talking about means of transport, the preposition на is normally equivalent to by in English. For example:

• Я езжу в школу на автобусе.
• (I go to school by bus)
• Мы ездили в отпуск на машине.
• (We went on vacation by car)
• Они часто путешествуют на поезде.
• (They often travel by train)

3) В and НА to indicate time

When talking about time, we use в and на to talk about weeks, months, years and centuries. For example:

• на этой неделе
• (this week)
• в прошлом месяце
• (last month)
• в феврале
• (in February)
• в двадцатом веке
• (in the 20th century)

4) Preposition О

The Russian preposition о means about and is always used with the prepositional case. For example:

• Я думаю о тебе.
• (I’m thinking about you)
• Мы разговариваем о погоде.
• (We are talking about the weather)
• Маша мечтает о новой машине.
• (Masha dreams about a new car)

Note that о becomes об before words that begin with the vowels а, и, о, у and э. For example:

• об Африке
• (about Africa)
• об истории
• (about history)
• об экономике
• (about economics)

Here is a list of some common verbs that are followed by the preposition о:

• думать (think)
• говорить (speak)
• разговаривать (talk)
• рассказывать (tell)
• помнить (remember)
• спрашивать (ask)
• беспокоиться (worry)
• заботиться (take care)
• мечтать (dream)
• спорить (argue)

5) Preposition ПРИ

The preposition при has two main meanings.

Firstly, it's used to say that something happens in someone’s presence. For example:

• Он никогда не курит при мне.
• (He never smokes in my presence)
• Они всегда ссорятся при нём.
• (They always fight in front of him)

Secondly, it can mean while or when. For example:

• Нужно быть осторожным при вождении.
• (You should be careful while driving)
• Практика очень важна при изучении языка.
• (Practice is very important when learning a language)

6) Preposition ПО

The preposition по can be translated into English as on or upon in the meaning of ‘immediately after something’. For example:

• Позвоните нам по прибытии.
• (Call us upon arrival)
• Он встретился с ней по возвращении в город.
• (He met her on his return to the city)

Note that this situation is rather formal, so it's unlikely that you will hear it in everyday speech.

Nouns in the Prepositional Case

When it comes to nouns, the prepositional case is very simple, especially compared to other Russian cases.

In this case, nouns end in either Е or И.

Let’s take a look at when we should use each of these endings.

1) Masculine Nouns

When a noun ends in a consonant, add the letter Е:

• город – городе (city)
• стол – столе (table)
• автобус – автобусе (bus)
• фильм – фильме (film)

When nouns end in Ь or Й, replace these letters with Е:

• музей – музее (museum)
• портфель – портфеле (schoolbag)

When nouns end in ИЙ, replace Й with И:

• гений – гении (genius)
• санаторий – санатории (sanatorium)

2) Feminine Nouns

When the noun ends in А or Я, replace these letters with Е:

• комната – комнате (room)
• школа – школе (school)
• деревня – деревне (village)
• спальня – спальне (bedroom)

When the noun ends in Ь, replace Ь with И:

• тетрадь – тетради (notebook)
• площадь – площади (square)
• жизнь – жизни (life)
• дверь – двери (door)

When the noun ends in ИЯ, replace Я with И:

• лекция – лекции (lecture)
• армия – армии (army)
• станция – станции (station)
• линия – линии (line)

3) Neuter Nouns

When neuter nouns end in О, replace О with Е:

• письмо – письме (letter)
• окно – окне (window)

Most neuter nouns that end in Е do not change.

However, when a noun ends in ИЕ, you need to replace Е with И:

• общежитие – общежитии (dormitory)
• здание – здании (building)
• образование – образовании (education)

4) Exceptions

Note that, when talking about location, a few nouns don't follow the above patterns. Due to some historical reasons, they take the ending У. Here are the most common of them:

• пол - полу (floor)
• шкаф - шкафу (wardrobe)
• сад - саду (garden)
• берег - берегу (bank of a river)
• лес - лесу (forest)
• аэропорт - аэропорту (airport)
• ряд - ряду (row)
• нос - носу (nose)
• бок - боку (side)

Besides the noun endings, it's a good idea to memorize the personal pronouns in the prepositional case.

Let's take a look at some sentences with personal pronouns used in the prepositional case:

• Мы говорили о ней.
• (We talked about her)
• Он спрашивает о тебе.
• (He asks about you)
• Они помнят о нас.
• (They remember about us)

Now let's learn what endings adjectives have in the prepositional case.

Adjectives in the Prepositional Case

Adjectives in the prepositional case can have four endings: ОМ, ЕМ, ОЙ and ЕЙ.

Let’s take a look at when you should use each of them.

1) Adjectives used with masculine nouns

When the adjective ends in ЫЙ or ОЙ, replace these endings with ОМ:

• новый дом – новом доме
• (a new house)
• красивый город – красивом городе
• (a beautiful city)
• большой зал – большом зале
• (a big hall)
• молодой человек – молодом человеке
• (a young man)

When the adjective ends in ИЙ, replace ИЙ with ЕМ:

• синий костюм – синем костюме
• (a blue suit)
• зимний вечер – зимнем вечере
• (a winter evening)
• летний вечер – летнем вечере
• (a summer evening)

Note that when the last consonant of the adjective is К or Х, it takes the ending ОМ instead of ЕМ:

• маленький город – маленьком городе
• (a small town)
• русский писатель – русском писателе
• (a Russian writer)
• тихий вечер – тихом вечере
• (a quiet evening)

2) Adjectives used with neuter nouns

When the adjective ends in ОЕ, replace ОЕ with ОМ:

• большое яблоко – большом яблоке
• (a big apple)
• русское слово – русском слове
• (a Russian word)
• длинное письмо – длинном письме
• (a long letter)

When the adjective ends in ЕЕ, replace ЕЕ with ЕМ:

• летнее платье – летнем платье
• (a summer dress)
• хорошее варенье – хорошем варенье
• (good jam)
• синее здание – синем здании
• (a blue building)

3) Adjectives used with feminine nouns

When the adjective ends in АЯ, replace АЯ with ОЙ:

• русская девушка – русской девушке
• (a Russian girl)
• большая комната – большой комнате
• (a big room)
• новая машина – новой машине
• (a new car)

Note that when the ending is not stressed and the last consonant of the adjective is Ж, Ш, Ч, Щ or Ц, we write ЕЙ instead of ОЙ:

• хорошая сумка – хорошей сумке
• (a good purse)
• горячая вода – горячей воде
• (hot water)

When the adjective ends in ЯЯ, replace ЯЯ with ЕЙ:

• синяя кружка – синей кружке
• (a blue mug)
• ранняя весна – ранней весне
• (early spring)
• последняя конфета – последней конфете
• (the last sweet)

Possessive Pronouns in the Prepositional Case

Here's a table of possessive pronouns in the prepositional case in Russian:

Note that the pronouns его, её and их never change.

Let's take a look at some sentences with these pronouns:

• Ключи лежат в моей сумке.
• (The keys are in my bag)
• Мы разговаривали о твоём брате.
• (We were talking about your brother)
• Подарки лежат в её машине.
• (The presents are in her car)