Language/Russian/Grammar/Prepositional-Case
Introduction
Welcome to the lesson on the Prepositional case! As you may already know, the Russian language has six cases: Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Dative, Instrumental, and Prepositional. The Prepositional case is used after prepositions, which are words that indicate the relationship between two nouns or a noun and a verb. In this lesson, we will learn the basics of the Prepositional case, and how to use it correctly in a sentence.
When to use the Prepositional case
The Prepositional case is used after prepositions that indicate location, position, or movement. Here are some examples of prepositions that require the Prepositional case:
- в (in, inside)
- на (on, onto)
- о (about, concerning)
- по (on, along)
- с (with, from)
Here are some examples of nouns in the Prepositional case:
| Russian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| доме | DOH-mye | in the house |
| тарелке | ta-ryel-KYE | on the plate |
| о друзьях | ah DROO-z'yakh | about friends |
Forming the Prepositional case
To form the Prepositional case, you need to take the ending of the noun and replace it with the appropriate ending. Here are the endings for each gender:
- If the noun is masculine, the ending is -е (for example, дом - доме)
- If the noun is feminine, the ending is -е (for example, тарелка - тарелке)
- If the noun is neuter, the ending is -е (for example, окно - окне)
- If the noun is plural, the ending is -ах or -ях (for example, друзья - о друзьях)
Exceptions
As with any rule, there are exceptions. Here are some other things to keep in mind when using the Prepositional case:
- Some masculine nouns that end in a consonant add -е to form the Prepositional case. For example, if the word ends in a soft consonant, such as й or ч, add -е. If the word ends in a hard consonant, such as т or п, add -е. Examples: ресторан - в ресторане (restaurant - in the restaurant), город - о городе (city - about the city).
- Some nouns have an irregular form in the Prepositional case. For example, the noun человек (person) becomes о человеке (about the person) in the Prepositional case.
Some Common Prepositions
Here are some common prepositions that take the Prepositional case:
- в (in, inside)
- на (on, onto)
- о (about, concerning)
- по (on, along)
- с (with, from)
- у (at, by, near)
- к (to, towards)
- за (behind)
- перед (in front of)
- между (between)
- над (above)
- под (under)
- около (near, approximately)
Practice
Now that you know the basics, it's time to practice forming the Prepositional case with some exercises. Try to form the Prepositional case for the following nouns:
- книга (book)
- комната (room)
- домашнее задание (homework)
- бутылка (bottle)
- кухня (kitchen)
Answers:
- о книге
- в комнате
- о домашнем задании
- в бутылке
- на кухне
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have successfully learned the basics of the Prepositional case in Russian. With practice, you will become more comfortable using this case and other aspects of Russian grammar. Keep up the good work!
Sources
- <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_grammar">Russian Grammar - Wikipedia</a>
- <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepositional_case">Prepositional Case - Wikipedia</a>