Nominative and Prepositional Case in Russian

Russian cases show how a noun or pronoun functions in a sentence. Its ending may change, and adjectives that describe it must agree. Start with two useful cases: the nominative (именительный падеж) and the prepositional (предложный падеж).

Nominative case in Russian

The nominative identifies the subject: кто? (who?) or что? (what?). A noun’s dictionary headword is normally its nominative singular form; nouns used only in the plural appear in the nominative plural. This rule concerns noun headwords, not every word in a dictionary.

A noun can also name the subject’s identity or profession. In these present-tense examples, both the subject and the predicate noun are nominative. Russian normally omits the present-tense equivalent of “am/is/are.” Other constructions, including some past-tense sentences with быть, can use the instrumental for the predicate noun.

Prepositional case in Russian

The prepositional case is always used with a preposition. It often answers о ком? (about whom?) or о чём? (about what?), or appears in expressions answering где? (where?) and когда? (when?).

В/во and на often describe location and occur in certain time expressions. О/об/обо means “about” here. При can describe someone’s presence, a period, or circumstances: при Петре Первом (under Peter the Great), for example. Its translation depends on the phrase; it is not a general substitute for “near.”

A preposition alone does not determine the case in every context. Compare в школе (at school: location, prepositional) with в школу (to school: destination, accusative).

1. Location

2. Time expressions

In the last sentence, в прошлом году is a time expression with a special locative form; в Рим describes a destination and is accusative. Do not treat every noun after в as prepositional.

3. The topic of thought or discussion

Singular endings: rules and examples

Declension is the pattern a noun follows when its case changes. The tables below show common patterns; dictionaries help with exceptions and changes in the stem.

First declension: nouns ending in -а or -я

This group includes feminine nouns such as доска (board) and улица (street), and masculine nouns such as папа (dad) and дядя (uncle). The usual prepositional singular ending is -е.

Regular nouns ending in -ия, such as лекция and история, have -ии in the prepositional singular.

Second declension: masculine nouns and neuter nouns

This group includes most masculine nouns ending in a consonant, -ь or -й, and neuter nouns ending in -о or -е. The usual prepositional singular ending is -е. A masculine noun ending in -ь follows a different pattern from a feminine noun ending in -ь.

Regular masculine nouns ending in -ий and neuter nouns ending in -ие use -ии: санаторий → о санатории; здание → о здании. These are useful patterns, but exceptional words and names should be checked individually.

Third declension: feminine nouns ending in -ь

The prepositional singular ending is -и. Some stems also change, as in любовь → любви.

Nouns with adjective endings

Some nouns retain adjective-style endings. Животное (animal) is a noun with this pattern; do not apply the ordinary neuter -о/-е rule to it. Its forms are животное → о животном and животные → о животных.

Special location forms

A small group of nouns has a special form in certain expressions with в or на: в лесу (in the forest), but о лесе (about the forest). Similarly, learn в прошлом году (last year) as a phrase. These forms are often called the locative or second prepositional; they do not replace the regular form in every context.

Plural endings

Ordinary nouns use -ах or -ях in the prepositional plural. The choice depends on the stem and spelling rules, not simply on whether the nominative plural ends in -ы or -и. Compare доски → на досках with дяди → о дядях.

Здание means “building”; its plural is здания. Лезвие means “blade”; its plural is лезвия. They are different words with the same ending pattern.

Some nouns are normally singular in their everyday meanings, including зрение (vision), оружие (weaponry), and жжение (a burning sensation). Learn their usual usage rather than assuming that an ending makes a plural impossible. Others are used only in the plural: ножницы → о ножницах (scissors), деньги → о деньгах (money).

Irregular nouns

Ten neuter nouns end in -мя: бремя, время, вымя, знамя, имя, пламя, племя, семя, стремя, темя. Their prepositional singular has -мени. Other irregular nouns include путь and дитя. Learn these forms individually.

Use об before имени and именах. Дитя is literary; ребёнок and дети are more usual in everyday speech.

Practise with sentences about yourself

Complete each sentence using the words in brackets. Choose the nominative for your identity and the prepositional for these location, month, and topic expressions.

1. Я ________. I am a ________. (учитель, продавец, лётчик)
2. Я живу в ________. I live in ________. (Москва, Лондон, Франция, квартира, дом)
3. Мой день рождения в ________. My birthday is in ________. (сентябрь, май, август)
4. Я мечтаю о ________. I dream of ________. (машина, дом, слава, деньги)

For your own examples, look up the noun’s gender and case forms. Practise the whole phrase—including its preposition—rather than an isolated ending.