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Which prepositions trigger the genitive case in Russian?

By: Anna Classing Fri Feb 28 2025

Cases, Prepositions

In Russian, a wide variety of prepositions trigger (or are followed by) the genitive case. These include some prepositions you’ve been using since the very start of learning Russian, like из[is](from) and без[byes](without). For example:

prepositiongenitive case

Я из Нью-Йорка.

ya iz nyoo-YORka

I’m from New York.

кофе без сахара

KOfye byes SAkhara

coffee without sugar

So, what are all those prepositions? Let’s see how many you can count!

What are genitive prepositions in Russian?

Genitive prepositions in Russian are prepositions that are typically followed by the genitive case. In the sections that follow, we’ll go through some of the most common ones, with examples. For an exhaustive list, download our genitive prepositions chart at the bottom of this page.

Important

Be careful! Many prepositions have several uses. While the prepositions below take the genitive case in the meanings listed here, they may take other cases when used in different ways.

For example, when c[s] may mean “from” (about a place or time) it is followed by the genitive case, but when it means “with” (as in “with a tool”) it takes the instrumental case instead:

genitive case
Он вернулся с работы.
on virNOOLsya s raBOty
He came back from work.
instrumental case
У него проблемы, связанные с работой.
oo niVO praBLYEmy SVYAzanyye s raBOtay
He has problems connected with work.

Let’s have a look at some of these genitive prepositions!

Genitive with prepositions of place

Prepositions of place are used to indicate the location of an object or person. The most frequent Russian prepositions of place that are followed by the genitive case are listed below.

*used mainly in high register or formal speech
Preposition	Example with genitive
у oo next to, by	Она долго сидела у окна. aNA DOLga siDYEla oo akNA She was sitting by the window for a long time.
вокруг vakROOK around	Вокруг профессора столпились студенты. vaKROOK praFYEsara stalPEElis stooDYENty Students gathered around the professor.
до do to, at, in	К вечеру мы доехали до Самары. k VYEchiroo my daYEkhali da saMAry By the evening we made it to Samara.
около Okala around, near, next to	Они остановились около моста. aNEE astanaVEElis Okala masTA They stopped next to the bridge.
мимо MEEma past	Он несколько раз прошёл мимо меня. on NYEskalka ras praSHOL MEEma miNYA He walked past me several times.
из is from	Я вернулась из Москвы во вторник. ya virNOOlas iz maskVY va FTORnik I came back from Moscow on Tuesday.
из-под EESpat from under	Он достал из-под подушки конверт. on dasTAL EESpat paDOOSHki kanVYERT He took an envelope from under the pillow.
c/со s/so from	Прямо с вокзала он поехал в офис. PRYAma s vakZAla on paYEkhal v Ofis He went to the office right from the station.
(не)далеко от (ni)daliKO at (not) far from	Мы жили недалеко от пекарни. my ZHEEli nidalyeKO at piKARni We were living not far from a bakery.
слева/справа от SLYEva/SPRAva at to the left/to the right from	Справа от библиотеки находился музей. SPRAva at bibliaTYEki nakhaDEELsya mooZYEY To the right from the library there was a museum.
позади pazaDEE behind	Она спряталась позади офицера. aNA SPRYAtalas pazaDEE afiTSEra She hid behind the officer.
напротив naPROtif opposite/across from	Я стоял напротив входа и не решался войти. ya staYAL naPROtif FKHOda i nye ryeSHALsya vayTEE I was standing across from the entrance and did not dare to come in.
посреди pasriDEE among/in the middle of/between	Прямо посреди комнаты стоял рояль. PRYAma pasriDEE KOMnaty staYAL raYAL Right in the middle of the room, there was a grand piano.
вдоль vdol along	Вдоль дороги продавали фрукты и ягоды. vdol daROgi pradaVAli FROOKty i YAgady Along the road, fruits and berries were being sold.
вне* vnye out of, outside, beyond	Через час он был уже вне досягаемости. CHEryes chas on byl ooZHE vnye dasiGAyemasti In an hour, he was already beyond reach.
внутри vnooTREE inside	Никто не знал, что внутри коробки. niKTO ni znal shto vnooTREE kaROPki No one knew what was inside the box.
снаружи snaROOzhi outside	Где-то снаружи стадиона играла музыка. GDYEta snaROOzhi stadiOna igRAla MOOzyka Music was playing somewhere outside of the stadium.

Genitive with prepositions of manner

Prepositions of manner describe how something is done. Here are the most common ones that take the genitive case:

Preposition	Example with genitive
без byes without	Он сдал экзамен без единой ошибки. on zdal igZAmyen byez yeDEEnay aSHEEPki He passed the exam without a single mistake.
вместо VMYESta instead of	Ты не мог бы завтра поработать вместо меня? ty ni mog by ZAFTra paraBOtat VMYESta miNYA Could you please work tomorrow instead of me?
кроме KROmye beside, except	Я никого не знал там, кроме Натальи. ya nikaVO nye znal tam KROmye naTAlyee I didn’t know anybody there except Natalia.
против PROtif against	Они были категорически против поправок. aNEE BYli katigaREEcheski PROtif papRAvak They were totally against the amendments.

Genitive with prepositions of purpose

The genitive case is often used to talk about the intended purpose of a thing or action. For example, after the following prepositions:

Preposition	Example with genitive
для dlya for	Это приложение для садоводов. Eta prilaZHEniye dlya sadaVOdaf This app is for gardeners.
ради RAdi for → often implies some sacrifice	Ради счастья ребенка родители готовы сделать многое. RAdi SHCHAstya riBYONka raDEEtyeli gaTOvy SDYElat MNOgaye For their child’s happiness, parents are ready to do a lot.
с целью s TSElyoo with the purpose of, for → formal	Похищение с целью выкупа - это уголовное преступление. pakhiSHCHEniye s TSElyoo VYkoopa Eta oogaLOVnaye pristoopLYEniye Kidnapping for ransom is a criminal offense.

Genitive with prepositions of reason

To explain the reasons behind something, or what caused it, use the genitive case after these prepositions:

Preposition	Example with genitive
из-за EEZza because of	Они поссорились из-за какой-то ерунды. aNEE pasSOrilis IZza kaKOYta yeroonDY They fell out because of some nonsense.
от at because of, from	Он заплакал от счастья. on zaPLAkal at SHCHAstya He started crying from happiness.
по причине pa priCHEEnye as a result of, due to → formal	Компания обанкротилась по причине отсутствия спроса. kamPAniya abankROtilas pa priCHEEnye atSOOTStvia SPROsa The company went bankrupt due to the absence of demand.

Genitive with prepositions of time

Prepositions help to describe relationship with time, and some require the genitive case to follow them:

Preposition	Example with genitive
с/co c/so from, since до do until, by, to	Он живёт в Москве с ноября. on zhiVYOT v maskVYE s nayabRYA He’s been living in Moscow since November. Библиотека открыта с восьми до пяти. bibliaTYEka atkRYta s vasMEE da piTEE The library is open from 8 to 5. Этот проект нужно завершить до Нового года. Etat praYEKT NOOZHna zavyerSHEET da NOvava GOda This project should be finished by the New Year.
после POSlye after	Увидимся после праздников! ooVEEdimsya POSlye PRAZnikaf See you after the holidays!
накануне nakaNOOnye the day before	Накануне рождества в магазинах всегда много людей. nakaNOOnye razhdistVA v magaZEEnakh fsigDA MNOga lyooDYE On the day before Christmas there are always a lot of people in the shops.
во время va VRYEmya during → formal	Во время нашей прогулки началась гроза. va VRYEmya NAshey praGOOLki nachaLAS graZA During our walk a thunderstorm started.
в течение f tiCHEnii during → formal	В течение всей жизни она коллекционировала монеты. f tiCHEnii fsey ZHEEzni aNA kaliktsiaNEEravala maNYEty During all her life she was collecting coins.

Conclusion

As you have seen, the genitive case must be used after quite a few prepositions in Russian. While it may seem overwhelming to try to remember them all, it is important to memorize the most popular ones and, with practice, it will eventually come to you easily!

Unpacking the grammar:Cases

Case is the form of a noun (and the adjective, etc. that modifies it) or pronoun that shows the role it plays in the sentence.

For example, the accusative case indicates that the noun or the pronoun are the object (= receiver of the action) of the verb:
I saw him.
("Him" is in the accusative case; it is the object of the sentence.)
Nominative case indicates that the noun/pronoun is the subject (=what/who does the action):
He saw me.
(“He” is in the nominative case; it is the subject of the sentence.)

There are six cases in Russian – nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, and prepositional.

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