On this page
Russian prepositions connect words and express relationships such as place, time, source, and purpose. To use them, learn both their meaning and the case of the noun or pronoun that follows. This guide introduces the case system, then groups useful genitive prepositions by meaning.
What are cases in Russian?
A case shows a noun’s or pronoun’s role in a sentence. The ending may change, and adjectives or other words that agree with the noun change accordingly. Compare these examples:
| English | Russian |
|---|---|
| I am going to spend the holidays in Russia. | Я собираюсь провести каникулы в России. |
| I chose Russia because I have friends there. | Я выбрал Россию, потому что у меня там друзья. |
| Russia is a big country with a unique culture. | Россия — большая страна с уникальной культурой. |
Россия, Россию, and России are forms of the same noun: nominative, accusative, and prepositional respectively in these sentences. This change is called declension. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, participles, and numerals have their own patterns; not every word changes in the same way.
You do not choose between three genders for each noun. Most nouns have a fixed gender; number and case determine which of its forms you need. Several cases can also share the same written form.
Case endings allow some flexibility in Russian word order, but word order still affects emphasis and naturalness. For example, русский язык and русским языком have different forms in Они делают русский язык русским языком (“They make the Russian language what it is”). Learn case forms in natural phrases rather than trying every possible ending.
| Case | Russian name | Usual case questions | Common uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | именительный | кто? что? — who? what? | Subject; naming or identifying |
| Genitive | родительный | кого? чего? — of whom? of what? | Possession, quantity, absence, and many prepositional phrases |
| Dative | дательный | кому? чему? — to whom? to what? | Recipient and other verb/preposition patterns |
| Accusative | винительный | кого? что? — whom? what? | Direct object and some destination/time expressions |
| Instrumental | творительный | кем? чем? — by/with whom? by/with what? | Means, accompaniment, and other patterns |
| Prepositional | предложный | о ком? о чём? — about whom? about what? | Topics and certain place/time phrases; always with a preposition |
These questions are memory aids, not a complete rule for translating English. The Russian verb, preposition, and intended meaning determine the construction. A form may be ambiguous without context.
Nominative and prepositions
The nominative commonly identifies the subject and is normally used without a preposition. It can also appear in naming and predicate constructions; it is not limited to subjects. Russian prepositions normally govern one of the other five cases.
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| Анна любит путешествовать. | Anna loves travelling. |
| Мой отец работает поваром в ресторане. | My father works as a chef in a restaurant. |
Анна and отец are nominative subjects. In the second sentence, поваром is instrumental and в ресторане is prepositional. One sentence can contain several cases.
Genitive and its prepositions
The genitive expresses possession and other relationships, and follows many prepositions. The groups below organize the examples by meaning; they are learning aids rather than rigid grammatical categories. Some prepositions, especially с, take other cases with other meanings.
Absence, exclusion, replacement, and opposition
| Preposition | Meaning here | Russian example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| без | without | Он пьёт чай без сахара. | He drinks tea without sugar. |
| кроме | except | Здесь нет никого, кроме меня и тебя. | There is nobody here except you and me. |
| вместо | instead of | В этот салат можно положить петрушку вместо базилика. | You can use parsley instead of basil in this salad. |
| против | against | Мы против коррупции в образовании. | We are against corruption in education. |
Location, proximity, and approximate amounts
| Preposition | Meaning here | Russian example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| напротив | opposite / across from | Моя школа находится напротив моего дома. | My school is opposite my house. |
| у | by / near | Наша дача находится у озера. | Our dacha is by the lake. |
| вдоль | along | Вдоль моей улицы растут яблони. | Apple trees grow along my street. |
| возле | near | Сергей живёт возле театра. | Sergei lives near a theatre. |
| мимо | past | Каждое утро по дороге на работу я прохожу мимо пекарни. | Every morning on my way to work, I walk past a bakery. |
| около | near | Иван будет ждать нас около главного входа. | Ivan will wait for us near the main entrance. |
| около | about / approximately | В пакете было около двух килограммов яблок. | There were about two kilograms of apples in the bag. |
| около | around a time | Мы вернулись домой около шести часов вечера. | We came home around six in the evening. |
| вокруг | around | Вокруг озера было много рыбаков и отдыхающих. | There were many anglers and holidaymakers around the lake. |
| посреди | in the middle of | Посреди кухни стоит большой обеденный стол. | There is a large dining table in the middle of the kitchen. |
| среди | among | Среди моих друзей нет ни одного юриста. | None of my friends is a lawyer. |
Напротив means “opposite” in this example, rather than simply “in front of.” Среди and посреди are separate words: среди commonly means “among,” while посреди emphasizes being in the middle of something.
Other uses of у
| Use | Russian example | English |
|---|---|---|
| At someone’s place | Я позавтракал у своего друга. | I had breakfast at my friend’s place. |
| Someone connected with a situation | У Ольги заболел брат. | Olga’s brother became ill. |
| Having something | У меня большая семья. | I have a large family. |
| Source when borrowing | Я одолжил машину у дяди. | I borrowed a car from my uncle. |
Possession with у + genitive does not always require есть. Compare У меня есть машина (I have a car) with У меня большая семья (I have a large family). Learn when есть is natural from the whole construction.
Source, material, and movement away
English “from” has several Russian equivalents. Choose according to the relationship: из often pairs with в, and с with на, when describing movement away from a place. These are useful patterns, not a one-word translation for every context.
| Preposition | Meaning here | Russian example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| с / со | from / off | Яблоко упало с яблони. | An apple fell from the apple tree. |
| из | from a group | Я познакомлю тебя с девочкой из второго класса. | I will introduce you to a girl from the second grade. |
| от / ото | away from | Пожалуйста, отойди от окна. | Please move away from the window. |
| от | from a person | Я узнал об этом от Кати. | I heard about it from Katya. |
| из-за | from behind | Заяц прыгнул из-за куста. | A hare jumped out from behind the bush. |
| из-за | because of | Мы остались дома из-за дождя. | We stayed home because of the rain. |
| из-под | from under | Из-под дивана вылез кот. | A cat came out from under the couch. |
| из-под | formerly containing something | Выкинь эту банку из-под кофе. | Throw away this empty coffee tin. |
| из / изо | out of | Макс вышел из магазина. | Max came out of the shop. |
| из | made from a material | Этот стол сделан из дерева. | This table is made of wood. |
The class example uses из второго класса for membership in that class. In Я познакомлю тебя с девочкой, с means “with” and takes the instrumental; it is a different construction from genitive с in с яблони. Expanded forms such as со, ото, and изо occur in particular sound combinations: со стола, ото всех, изо всех сил.
Time, purpose, and other useful meanings
| Preposition | Meaning here | Russian example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| после | after | После обеда мы пойдём гулять. | After lunch, we will go for a walk. |
| для | for | Мне нужно купить для мамы подарок. | I need to buy a present for my mother. |
| ради | for the sake of | Она пойдёт на всё ради своего ребёнка. | She will do anything for her child. |
| вне | outside a setting | Мой друг и я часто видимся вне школы. | My friend and I often meet outside school. |
| внутри | inside | Внутри дома было тепло и уютно. | It was warm and cosy inside the house. |
| до | until / before | До обеда ещё далеко. | It is still a long time until lunch. |
| до | before | Мне нужно успеть забежать к другу до школы. | I need to find time to stop by my friend’s place before school. |
| накануне | on the eve of / just before | У меня всегда много дел накануне праздников. | I always have a lot to do just before the holidays. |
Накануне points to the preceding day or period, not generally “around” an event. Вне школы can mean outside the school setting; it need not describe standing just outside a building.
How to practise
Choose a few phrases and change the noun while keeping the same pattern: без сахара → без молока; около дома → около школы; после обеда → после урока. Check the noun’s genitive form in a dictionary when you are unsure.
Next, study prepositions with the dative, accusative, instrumental, and prepositional cases. Keep both parts handy: a familiar preposition may require a different case when its meaning changes.
