The prepositional is the second-easiest case after the nominative, in both form and meaning. Its primary meaning is location (some grammars call it the locative case), and its form is the simplest anywhere: one ending, -е, for all three genders. It is named after the fact that it never appears without a preposition.
When to use it
Two main uses:
- Location with в / на - where something is: в доме (in a house), в машине (in a car), в Америке (in America), на столе (on the table). Note the contrast with the accusative, which handles motion toward a place; the prepositional is being already there.
- Topic with о / об - what something is about: о проблеме (about the problem), о книге (about the book).
Location is not only physical or geographic - it covers abstract “in” too: в телефоне (in the phone, e.g. a photo or number), в книге (in a book).
Singular endings
The same ending, -е, for all three genders. Add it to a consonant-final noun, or replace the final vowel with -е.
| Gender | Nominative | Prepositional | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masc | дом | (в) доме | in a house |
| Masc | город | (в) городе | in the city |
| Masc | Нью-Йорк | (в) Нью-Йорке | in New York |
| Fem | машина | (в) машине | in a car |
| Fem | Америка | (в) Америке | in America |
| Fem | квартира | (в) квартире | in the apartment |
| Neut | окно | (в) окне | in the window |
| Neut | молоко | (в) молоке | in the milk |
(A small caveat the intro video keeps simple: nouns ending in -ия / -ие and feminine -ь take -и instead of -е, e.g. Россия → в России, дверь → в двери. The -е rule covers the large majority.)
Examples
- Я живу в доме - I live in a house.
- Я в машине - I am in the car.
- Я вижу свет в окне - I see light in the window.
- Я живу в Америке - I live in America.
- Я читаю о книге - I am reading about the book.
Lessons worth keeping
- Prepositional = location (“in / on / at”) and topic (“about”), and it never appears without a preposition (в, на, о).
- One ending for everything: -е (replace a final vowel, or add it to a consonant). Easiest case after nominative.
- Contrast with accusative: prepositional is being at a place (в школе), accusative is going to a place (в школу).
- Watch the -ия/-ие and feminine -ь nouns, which take -и (в России, в двери).
Related
- russian-case-system - the overview.
- accusative-case - motion toward a place, the counterpart to prepositional’s “already there”.
- dative-case - shares the feminine -е ending.
Sources
- youtube.com/watch?v=irpPCtJ4rRo - Russian Readers, “The Prepositional Case”.
- Full transcript: prepositional-case