We use the prepositional case in Russian after certain prepositions, particularly if we are describing things we think or say, the place where something happened, and the time. But we also use prepositional case for other things, like to say what clothes someone is wearing, describe a means of transport, or to say someone is playing an instrument.
In this post, we’ll introduce you to the prepositional case in Russian. First, we’ll cover the forms of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns in this case, then we’ll turn to the various uses of the prepositional case in Russian. Along the way, we’ll direct you to some resources where you can learn more. Let’s have a look!
How to form the prepositional case in Russian?
To form the prepositional case in Russian, you will generally use one of the endings listed below:
For nouns:
-е / -и for singular nouns
-ах / -ях for plural nouns
For adjectives:
-ом / -ем for singular (masculine and neuter)
-ой / -ей for singular (feminine)
-ых / -их for plural adjectives
But how do you choose which ending to use for a given noun? Let’s have a look!
How to put Russian nouns in the prepositional case?
Most singular nouns end in -е in the prepositional case, but those which end in -ия, -ие, -ий, or -ь (feminine) in nominative have the ending -и in prepositional, for example:
| | grandmother → about grandmother |
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| | butter/oil → in butter/oil |
| | pension → retired (lit. on pension) |
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A few singular nouns will take on a different ending, -у / -ю, when they are used describe a place or location. For example:
Они мечтали о снеге. aNEE michTAli a SNYEgye They were dreaming about snow. | Они валялись в снегу. aNEE vaLYAlis f sniGOO They were rolling in the snow. |
Валя рассуждала о рае и аде. VAlya rasooZHDAla a RAye i Adye Valya thought about paradise and hell. | Валя почувствовала себя в раю. VAlya paCHOOstvavala siBYA v raYU Valya felt as if in paradise. |
For a list of these words, and more examples, check out our post on using prepositional case to describe locations!
Plural nouns end in -ах in prepositional if the last consonant of the noun is hard, and -ях if it is soft, for example:
| | grandmother → about grandmothers |
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There are some nouns, mostly loan words, geographical place names, and abbreviations, that are indeclinable in Russian. They do not change their endings in any case, including prepositional. Check out our list of indeclinable Russian nouns to see some examples!
Download our full chart of prepositional noun endings at the bottom of the page for more examples!
How to form Russian adjectives in the prepositional case?
Let’s start by looking at the endings that adjectives take in the prepositional case, in comparison to the nominative case.
As you can see from the table, there is a smaller variety of endings in the prepositional case than in the nominative case, which is good news!
Two Russian spelling rules often affect the endings of adjectives in the prepositional case:
The “7-letter rule” → The letter ы cannot be used after the 7 letters к, г, х, ш, щ, ж, and ч. After adjectives that end in one of these letters, the ending -ых → -их.
The “5-letter rule” → After 5 letters ш, щ, ж, ч, and ц, the unstressed letter “o” in the endings turns into “e.” So with adjectives ending in one of these letters, use the endings -ом/-ой → -ем/-ей.
Download our chart of Russian prepositional case endings at the bottom of the page for examples of adjectives like these.
What are the Russian pronouns in the prepositional case?
The forms of the personal pronouns in the prepositional case are given below.
я[ya] | на мне[na MNYE] | |
мы[my] | на нас[na NAS] | |
ты[ty] | на тебе[na tiBYE] | |
вы[vy] | на вас[na VAS] | you → on you (pl. / fml.) |
он[on] | на нём[na NYOM] | |
она[aNA] | на ней[na NYEY] | |
оно[aNO] | на нём[na NYOM] | |
они[aNEE] | на них[na NEEKH] | |
To see the prepositional case of possessive, interrogative, and demonstrative pronouns in Russian, check out our Russian prepositional pronouns reference sheet.
When to use the prepositional case in Russian?
As its name implies, the prepositional case is used mostly after prepositions. However, it is not used after every preposition! Let’s have a look at these different meanings and how adjectives are used with them.
Objects of speech and thought
The prepositional case is used after verbs like думать[DOOmat](to think) or говорить[gavaREET](to talk) and the preposition o[a](about) to specify the object, for instance:
prepositional case
Он долго рассказывал о своей любимой домашней еде.
on DOLga rasKAzyval a svaYEY lyuBEEmay daMASHnyey yeDYE
He was talking a long time about his favorite homemade food.
To learn more about this use of the prepositional case, have a look at our post on how to use the prepositional case after “about” in Russian!
Place
The prepositional case is widely used to answer the question где?[gdye](where?) in Russian with the prepositions в[v](in) and на[na](in/at/on), for example:
prepositional case
Я живу в небольшом старинном городе.
ya zhiVOO v nibalSHOM staREEnam GOradye
I live in a small, ancient town.
На узких улицах не так много машин, как на широких.
na OOSkikh OOlitsakh ni tak MNOga maSHEEN kak na shiROkikh
There are not as many cars on narrow streets as there are on wide ones.
Have a look at our post on using Russian prepositional case to discuss places to learn more!
Time
You need to use the prepositional case with years, months, and weeks when giving an answer to the question “when?,” and sometimes adjectives may come along as well, like in the following phrases:
prepositional case
в прошлом году
f PROSHlam gaDOO
в дождливом октябре
v dazhdLEEvam aktibRYE
на следующей неделе
na SLYEdooshchey niDYElye
You might have noticed that in English there is sometimes no preposition in such phrases, while in Russian в[v](in) or на[na](on) are required.
Have a look at our post on using Russian prepositional case to discuss time to learn more!
Musical instruments
While you don’t need a preposition in English to say that you play an instrument, in Russian you do. We literally say, “play ON an instrument,” thus the prepositional case is required after the preposition на [na](on).
It’s not often that you would need an adjective there, but you might need to specify the instrument or answer the questions на каком инструменте[na kaKOM instrooMYENtye]((on) which instrument):
prepositional case
Они играют на различных народных инструментах: балалайках, дудочках и ложках.
aNEE igRAyut na razLEECHnykh naRODnykh instrooMYENtakh balaLAYkakh DOOdachkakh i LOSHkakh
They play (on) various folk instruments: balalaikas, reed pipes, and spoons.
Method of transport
To say, “by plane” or “by car” in Russian, you need the preposition на [na](by) and the prepositional case for the means of transportation itself, for example:
prepositional case
Она уехала в аэропорт на жёлтом нью-йоркском такси.
aNA ooYEkhala v aeraPORT na ZHOLtam nyuYORKskam takSEE
She went to the airport by a yellow New York taxi.
Clothes
The prepositional case is often used to provide a description of the clothes someone is wearing, normally with the preposition в[v](in) after the verb “to be,” for example:
prepositional case
Он был в длинном пальто и кожаных ботинках.
on byl v DLEEEnam palTO i KOzhanykh baTEENkakh
He was wearing a long coat and leather shoes.
lit. He was in a long coat and leather shoes.
Conclusion
As you have seen from the post, nouns in the prepositional case can be used for a lot of different purposes. In this post we have looked at:
How to form nouns, adjectives, and pronouns in the prepositional case — careful with the exceptions from the standard ending pattern!
When the prepositional case is used:
After verbs like говорить or думать and the preposition о
To talk about place/location
To say, “play a musical instrument”
Ready to practice? Download the activity sheet linked below! Or, if you’d rather start studying, have a look at the downloadable ending chart for the Russian prepositional case. Happy learning!
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