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The
prepositional case is so named because it is is used only with prepositions,
and only four prepositions are currently used with this case: в+Prep "in, at", на+Prep "on, at",
о(б)+Prep "about", and при+Prep "on (one's
person), during". Notice that the first two have two meanings "in, at" and
"on, at". This is because the Russian people have discovered away of ridding
their language of any preposition meaning "at": they simply use these two
prepositioins (and u+Gen) to mean "at". Because the meanings
are so similar (as you will soon see), there is never any confusion.
To keep the 'two' meanings distinct in the English-speaking
mind, you need only to remember where you are (easy enough if you're under
50). For example, if you are at home and someone says, —Саша в школе, then
they mean "Sasha is at school". Since the two places are totally different,
Russians can use the general meaning of в+Prep. If you are
already at school, standing out on the sidewalk, say, then the same sentence
will mean "Sasha is inside the school". Clever, huh? And it works every
time. Here are some more examples; the 'at' examples are coded in blue. (See
the section on case
for and explanation of the case endings.)
| The
Locative (Place) Prepositions |
| The Preposition в+Prep |
| Саша у себя в комнате. |
Sasha is in her room. |
| Я забыла ключи в машине. |
I left the keys in the car. |
| Боря сейчас учится в
университете. |
Borya is at college now. |
| Валя работает в больнице. |
Valya works at the hospital. |
| The Preposition на+Prep |
| Боря спит на диване. |
Borya is sleeping on the couch. |
| Валя любит ездить на автобусе. |
Valya likes to take the bus. |
| Васи не было на лекции. |
Vasya wasn't at the lecture. |
| Я забыла пальто на концерте |
I left my coat at the
concert. |
You might have noticed something unusual about the phrases
with на+Prep meaning "at". While the phrases with
в+Prep meaning "at" refer to an object that people are
normally inside when they are 'at' it, на+Prep is usually used
with abstract nouns like concert, lecture, class, meeting. The reason
has to do with the rule for choosing between в+Prep and
на+Prep. The basic principle is this: f
| The
'At' Rule for Russian |
|
In expressing "at" in Russian, choose
в+Prep if the location is an inanimate object
which human beings are normally inside when they are 'at' it;
otherwise, chose на+Prep. (If the object of the
preposition is animate,y+Gen
is used.) |
The rule as stated predicts that if the object is on
something people are usually on when they are 'at it', e.g. на поле
"in the field", на улице "on the street", or if the object of the
preposition refers to an abstract concept like concerts, lectures, etc.,
на+Prep will be used. В+Prep and
на+Prep are also used in various time
expressions which require special explanation. They are also used
with the accusative case when modifying verbs of motion. Just to spice up what might otherwise be a boringly simple
system, the Russians tossed in a couple of exceptions.
The preposition о(б)+Prep means "about" and
is used pretty much the same as about is used in English. The
preposition при+Prep has two common meanings. The first is "on
one's person", as in У меня нет ручки при себе "I don't have a pen on me".
The other meaning is "in the time of, during the tenure of", as in Всё это
случилось при Петре первом "That happened in the time (during the reign of)
Peter I." Here are a few more examples.
| Other
Prepositional Case Prepositions |
| Они говорили только о работе. |
All they talked about was
work. |
| О чём вы думаете? |
What are you thinking about? |
| При тебе есть деньги? |
Do you have any money on you? |
| При Сталине было ужасно. |
During Stalin's time is was horrible.
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No other prepositions currently govern the prepositional case. So let's
move on to the prepositions governing the last case, the instrumental.
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