Prepositional Case
In a nutshell
- Prepositional is the "location" case: it answers где? ("where — at rest") when used with в/на, and marks the topic after «о» ("about").
- It is the one case that never appears without a preposition — hence the name.
- Most nouns just add -е. Nouns ending in -ия/-ие/-ий take -ии instead.
- A short list of common masculine nouns take a special stressed -у ending after в/на (в лесу́, в году́).
- Some nouns pair only with «в», others only with «на» — this has to be memorized per noun.
What prepositional is for
Prepositional case shows up in exactly two situations: saying where something is located (static, not moving), and saying what you're talking/thinking about.
Кни́га в су́мке. — lit. "Book in bag-PREP." — "The book is in the bag." (location — где?)
Я ду́маю о тебе́. — lit. "I think about you-PREP." — "I'm thinking about you." (topic — о чём?)
Compare this to Accusative's use of the same prepositions в/на for motion toward a place — the preposition stays the same, but the case changes depending on whether something is moving or already there:
Я иду́ в шко́лу. (accusative — moving to school) vs. Я в шко́ле. (prepositional — at school)
The basic ending: -е
Most nouns, regardless of gender, simply add -е to the stem in the prepositional case.
| Nominative | Prepositional | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| стол → | столе́ | table |
| кни́га → | кни́ге | book |
| окно́ → | окне́ | window |
| маши́на → | маши́не | car |
| теа́тр → | теа́тре | theater |
Кни́га лежи́т на столе́. — lit. "Book lies on table-PREP." — "The book is lying on the table."
Я рабо́таю в теа́тре. — lit. "I work in theater-PREP." — "I work in a theater."
Feminine -ь nouns also take -и (not -е) in the prepositional — same pattern you'll see repeat with dative:
| Nominative | Prepositional | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| дверь → | две́ри | door |
| ночь → | но́чи | night |
О две́ри — "about the door"; в двери́ — "in the door(way)."
-ия / -ие / -ий → -ии
Nouns ending in -ия, -ие, or -ий take -ии in the prepositional instead of the plain -е. This is a spelling/pronunciation safeguard — it keeps the stem's -и from colliding awkwardly with a bare -е.
| Nominative | Prepositional | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Росси́я → | в Росси́и | Russia |
| ста́нция → | на ста́нции | station |
| зда́ние → | в зда́нии | building |
| sanато́рий → | в санато́рии | sanatorium |
Я живу́ в Росси́и. — lit. "I live in Russia-PREP." — "I live in Russia."
Мы бы́ли на ста́нции. — lit. "We were on station-PREP." — "We were at the station."
The special stressed -у ending
A short but very common list of masculine nouns take a stressed -у (not -е) in the prepositional, but only after в or на in a locational sense — not after «о» ("about").
| Nominative | Normal -е form | Special в/на + -у́ form |
|---|---|---|
| лес (forest) | (о) ле́се | в лесу́ |
| год (year) | (о) го́де | в году́ |
| сад (garden) | (о) са́де | в саду́ |
| шкаф (wardrobe) | (о) шка́фе | в шкафу́ |
| у́гол (corner) | (об) у́гле | в углу́ |
Я гуля́ю в лесу́. — lit. "I walk in forest-PREP(special)." — "I'm walking in the forest." (location — special -у)
Я расска́зываю о ле́се. — lit. "I tell about forest-PREP." — "I'm talking about the forest." (topic — normal -е)
Same noun, two different prepositional endings depending on function. This list has to be memorized noun-by-noun; there's no way to predict which masculine nouns take it.
в vs. на: which preposition goes with which noun?
Both в ("in") and на ("on/at") take the prepositional case for location — but which one goes with a given noun is often arbitrary and has to be learned per noun, much like English "in the car" vs. "on the bus."
| Takes в | Takes на |
|---|---|
| в шко́ле (at school) | на рабо́те (at work) |
| в магази́не (in the store) | на по́чте (at the post office) |
| в теа́тре (at the theater) | на конце́рте (at the concert) |
| в Росси́и (in Russia) | на уро́ке (in class/at the lesson) |
| в кни́ге (in the book) | на у́лице (on/at the street) |
General tendency (not a hard rule): в is used for enclosed spaces (buildings, containers, countries); на is used for surfaces, open events, and a set of fixed exceptions (рабо́та, по́чта, ста́нция, уро́к) that just have to be memorized. When in doubt, learn the preposition together with the noun as a single chunk — "на рабо́те" as one unit, not "на" and "рабо́та" separately.
Prepositional of pronouns
Personal pronouns have their own prepositional forms — always used with a preposition, same rule as nouns.
| Nominative | Prepositional | Example |
|---|---|---|
| я | (обо) мне | Ты ду́маешь обо мне? — "Are you thinking about me?" |
| ты | (о) тебе́ | Я ду́маю о тебе́. — "I'm thinking about you." |
| он / оно́ | (о) нём | Мы говори́м о нём. — "We're talking about him." |
| она́ | (о) ней | Мы говори́м о ней. — "We're talking about her." |
| мы | (о) нас | Он говори́т о нас. — "He's talking about us." |
| вы | (о) вас | Я ду́маю о вас. — "I'm thinking about you (formal/pl.)." |
| они́ | (о) них | Мы говори́м о них. — "We're talking about them." |
Note: «о» becomes «обо» before «мне» purely for ease of pronunciation (two consonant-heavy words colliding) — a small, memorizable exception.
Я ду́маю о тебе́ ка́ждый день. — lit. "I think about you-PREP every day." — "I think about you every day."
Summary table
| Category | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Most nouns | -е | стол → столе́ |
| -ия / -ие / -ий nouns | -ии | Росси́я → в Росси́и |
| Fem. -ь nouns | -и | дверь → две́ри |
| Special masc. list (в/на only) | stressed -у́ | лес → в лесу́ |
Practice
- Put «стол» into the prepositional after «на»: Кни́га лежи́т на ___.
- Put «Москва́» into the prepositional after «в»: Я живу́ в ___.
- Put «Росси́я» into the prepositional after «в»: Мы живём в ___.
- Put «рабо́та» into the prepositional with the correct preposition: Он ___ ___. (He is at work.)
- Put «лес» into the prepositional after «в», using the special ending: Мы гуля́ем в ___.
- Put «он» into the prepositional after «о»: Я не зна́ю о ___ ничего́.
- Translate: "The door is in the building (зда́ние)." — mind the -ие ending.
- Translate: "I'm thinking about you (informal)."
- Explain why «в саду́» uses -у instead of the expected -е.
- Fill the correct preposition (в or на) from memory: Она́ ___ по́чте. (She's at the post office.)
Answers
- Кни́га лежи́т на столе́. — regular masc. noun, plain -е ending.
- Я живу́ в Москве́. — regular fem. noun (Москва́ → Москве́), plain -е.
- Мы живём в Росси́и. — -ия nouns take -ии, not the plain -е.
- Он на рабо́те. — «рабо́та» is one of the memorized "на" nouns, not "в"; regular -е ending on the noun itself.
- Мы гуля́ем в лесу́. — «лес» is on the special stressed-у list for в/на locational use.
- Я не зна́ю о нём ничего́. — «он» → prepositional pronoun «нём» after «о».
- Дверь в зда́нии. — lit. "Door in building-PREP." — "The door is in the building." «Зда́ние» ends in -ие, so it takes -ии.
- Я ду́маю о тебе́. — lit. "I think about you-PREP." — "I'm thinking about you."
- «Сад» belongs to the short list of masculine nouns that take a special stressed -у ending after в/на in a locational sense, instead of the ordinary -е — this has to be memorized per noun, it isn't predictable from spelling.
- Она́ на по́чте. — «по́чта» is one of the fixed "на" exceptions, memorized as a chunk «на по́чте».