Using prepositions and the prepositional case.

As with any language, Russian prepositions can sometimes have slightly different uses and meanings than in English. Here are some tips to help you, although these aren’t precise rules.

The word “в” (in) is used to replace the English word “at”, when you are referring to enclosed spaces or buildings. (Eg. ‘at school’)

The word “на” (on/at) replaces the English word “at” when you are talking about open spaces or places that were traditionally open spaces. (Eg. ‘at work’, ‘at a station’, ‘at a concert’).

Now you can easily tell people where you live:

Где вы живёте? – Where do you live?

Я живу в Москве – I live in Moscow.

Я живу в Лондоне – I live in London.

Я живу в Петербурге – I live in St. Petersburg.

Я живу в Сибири – I live in Siberia.

As with “Лондоне” you should change the case of other cities, suburbs and places, even though they are not Russian.

You can also describe where something or someone is:

Где она? – Where is she?

на вокзале – at the station

на почте – at the post office

в саду – in the garden

в лесу – in the forest

на улице – on the street

Что на столе? – What is on the table?

На столе книга и карандаш – On the table is a book and a pencil.

Other Places

Here are some names of other useful places. (They are in dicionary form)

кино – cinema

театр – theatre

аптека – pharmacy

парк – park

стадион – stadium

школа – school

работа – work

библиотека – library

кафе – cafe

площадь – square

ресторан – restaurant

банк – bank

гостиница – hotel

музей – museum

больница – hospital

квартира – apartment

дом – house, home

университет – university

The following locations are always preceded by ‘на’ instead of ‘в’ when describing location or motion towards.

север – north

юг – south

восток – east

запад – west

вокзал – station (usually large train stations)

станция – station (smaller train and tram stations)

завод – factory

концерт – concert

площадь – square

работа – work

рынок – market

стадион – stadium

улица – street

почта – post office

Location and Direction

Sometimes, prepositions have more than one meaning, you can tell this by the case. When answering questions asked with the word “Где” (Where is (location)), your answer will involve the prepositional case. However, when you answer questions asked with “Куда” (Where to), you would use the accusative case. Here are some examples for you to compare.

Куда вы идёте – Where are you going (to)?   (Indicates direction)

Я иду в школу – I am going to school.

Где вы работаете? – Where do you work?   (Indicates a location)

Я работаю в школе – I work at (in) a school.

Here are some useful words and phrases for finding your way around Russia.

прямо – Straight ahead.

налево – To the left.

направо – To the right.

прямо, потом направо – Straight ahead, then to the right.

Going Places in Russian

In Russian there are two words that can be used to express “I am going”. The first indicates you are going on foot, the second indicates that you are going by some form of transport. Both these words are verbs of motion, and are grammatically quite complex, but as these words are so important for basic Russian, we will introduce them now in a simple way. A more detailed lesson on verbs of motion will follow at a later stage

Each of these 2 verbs (and all verbs of motion) come in pairs. The first indicates ‘to go in one direction’, the second indicates ‘to go in more than one direction’ or to ‘go somewhere repetitively’. You will notice from the examples that this often relates to when you use ‘going’ or ‘go’ in English. So to express ‘to go’ in Russian, there are actually four ways:

Идти – To go on foot, in one direction.

(Я иду, Ты идёшь, Он идёт, Мы идём, Вы идёте, Они идут)

Я иду в школу – I am going to school.

Я иду в кино – I am going to the cinema.

Ты идёшь в кино? – Are you going to the cinema?

Он идёт в гостиницу – He is going to the hotel.

Мы идём в кафе – We are going to the cafe.

я иду в университет – I am going to the university

Ходить – To go on foot, in more than one direction, or repetitively.

(Я хожу, Ты ходишь, Он ходит, Мы ходим, Вы ходите, Они ходят )

Я хожу в школу – I go to school.

Я часто хожу в кино – I often go to the cinema

Мы ходим в кафе каждый день – We go to the cafe every day.

Ехать – To go by transport, in one direction.

(Я еду, Ты едешь, Он едет, Мы едем, Вы едете, Они едут )

Я еду в школу – I am going to school. (by transport)

Я еду в кино на метро – I am going to the cinema on the metro.

Он едет в гостиницу на такси – He is going to the hotel by taxi.

Мы едем в кафе – We are going to the cafe. (by transport)

Он едет в Лондон – He is going to London

Ездить – To go by transport, in more than one direction, or repetitively

(Я езжу, Ты ездишь , Он ездит , Мы ездим, Вы ездите, Они ездят)

Он часто ездит в Лондон – He often goes to London

Я езжу в театр каждый день – I go to the theater every day.

Они часто ездят в Амстердам – They often go to Amsterdam