Russian Prepositions Sorted by Case (Part 2)

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In Part 1, we introduced Russian cases and genitive prepositions. Here we cover the dative, accusative, instrumental, and prepositional cases. Learn each preposition with its meaning and a complete example: several prepositions take different cases in different constructions.

Dative case and its prepositions

The dative answers кому? and чему? (to whom? to what?). It often marks a recipient, but has other uses too; it is not simply the case for everything English expresses with “for.”

Russian	English
Мама читает сыну сказку.	A mother is reading her son a story.
Я одолжил немного денег другу.	I lent some money to my friend.

Сыну and другу are dative forms, used without a preposition here. The following prepositions take the dative in these examples.

Preposition	Meaning here	Russian example	English
к / ко	towards / up to	На выходные я с друзьями поеду к морю.	I will go to the seaside with my friends for the weekend.
к	up to	Анна подошла к окну.	Anna came up to the window.
к	towards, in an attitude	Жители города хорошо относятся к новому мэру.	The residents have a positive attitude towards the new mayor.
по	around / through	После работы я люблю гулять по парку.	I like walking around the park after work.
по	on / across a surface	Младенцы любят ползать по полу.	Babies like crawling on the floor.
по	according to	Мы должны играть по правилам.	We must play by the rules.
благодаря	thanks to	Благодаря своему отцу я научился играть на гитаре ещё ребёнком.	Thanks to my father, I learned to play the guitar as a child.
благодаря	thanks to	Благодаря этой книге я выучил много русских слов.	Thanks to this book, I learned many Russian words.
благодаря	thanks to	Благодаря хорошей погоде в этом году мы собрали отличный урожай.	Thanks to the good weather, we had an excellent harvest this year.
вопреки	contrary to / despite	Вопреки совету врача он перестал принимать лекарства.	Contrary to his doctor’s advice, he stopped taking his medication.
наперекор	in defiance of	Он женился на ней наперекор родителям.	He married her in defiance of his parents.
согласно	according to	Согласно легенде город основал князь.	According to the legend, a prince founded the city.

К with movement answers куда? (where to?), rather than где? (where?). Learn the expanded form in phrases such as ко мне (to me). По often takes the dative, but this is not its only case; compare по пояс in the accusative section below. Согласно takes the dative: согласно легенде, согласно договору.

Accusative case and its prepositions

The accusative answers кого? and что? (whom? what?) and commonly marks a direct object: Я люблю Мишу (I love Misha), Я люблю пиццу (I love pizza). With prepositions, it also occurs in destination, time, quantity, and other expressions.

Destination and movement across or through

Preposition	Russian example	English
в	Я иду в библиотеку.	I am going to the library.
на	Ты идёшь на вечеринку сегодня вечером?	Are you going to the party tonight?
на	Положи свои книги на стол.	Put your books on the table.
под	Поставь свой чемодан под стол.	Put your suitcase under the table.
сквозь	Люди не умеют проходить сквозь стены.	People cannot walk through walls.
через	Чтобы попасть в сад, нам нужно перелезть через забор.	To get into the garden, we need to climb over the fence.

With в, на, под, and за, the case contrast often concerns a destination or change of location, not simply whether the verb describes movement. You can walk around в парке while remaining in the park: that phrase is prepositional.

Time expressions

Preposition	Meaning here	Russian example	English
через	in, after an interval	Мы снова увидимся через год.	We will see each other again in a year.
за	past a point in time	Вечеринка закончилась за полночь.	The party ended after midnight.
под	towards / close to	Мои родители вернутся под вечер.	My parents will return towards evening.
в	on a day	В среду у меня собеседование.	I have an interview on Wednesday.

Через год means after a year has passed, not “by” a deadline. Под вечер means towards evening. В среду is accusative even though it expresses time; compare prepositional в марте (in March). The question когда? alone does not determine the case.

Approximate quantity and extent

Preposition	Russian example	English
с	Гости пробыли у нас с неделю.	The guests stayed at our place for about a week.
по	В России зимой снега бывает по пояс.	In Russia, snow can be waist-deep in winter.

С неделю is an approximate-duration expression with the accusative. It differs from genitive с meaning “from” and instrumental с meaning “with.” По пояс describes an extent and takes the accusative.

Topics and contact with an object

Preposition	Russian example	English
про	Я постоянно думаю про свою девушку.	I keep thinking about my girlfriend.
за	Отец взял ребёнка за руку.	The father took his child by the hand.
за	Коты не любят, когда их дёргают за хвост.	Cats do not like having their tails pulled.

Про means “about” and takes the accusative. Compare про работу with о работе: both can refer to work as a topic, but the case differs.

Instrumental case and its prepositions

The instrumental answers кем? and чем? (by/with whom? by/with what?). It can identify a means or tool, and it has several other uses. English “with” does not always translate as с.

Russian	English
Мы сделали подарок своими руками.	We made a present with our own hands.
Я помыла руки мылом и вытерла их полотенцем.	I washed my hands with soap and dried them with a towel.

The tool expressions мылом and полотенцем use the instrumental without a preposition. For accompaniment, use с / со + instrumental:

Russian	English
Он любит гулять с собакой по утрам.	He likes walking with his dog in the mornings.
Ты поедешь завтра с Олегом на рыбалку?	Will you go fishing with Oleg tomorrow?

Position and other spatial relationships

Preposition	Meaning here	Russian example	English
над	above	Над диваном висит большая картина.	A large picture hangs above the couch.
над	over	Самолёт пролетел над нами.	A plane flew over us.
под	under	Под столом лежит кот.	A cat is lying under the table.
за	behind	За домом есть небольшой сад.	There is a small garden behind the house.
перед	in front of	Мне всегда страшно выступать перед большой аудиторией.	I am always nervous about performing in front of a large audience.
между	between	Автобусная остановка находится между этими зданиями.	The bus stop is between these buildings.

These examples use the instrumental, not the accusative. Compare под стол (to a position under the table: accusative) with под столом (under the table: instrumental). Над remains instrumental even with a motion verb, as in Самолёт пролетел над нами.

Prepositional case and its prepositions

The prepositional case is always accompanied by a preposition. Its topic questions are о ком? and о чём? (about whom? about what?). Other prepositional phrases describe location, time, transport, instruments, or clothing.

Topics: о / об / обо

Russian	English
Макс рассказал мне о своей мечте объехать весь мир.	Max told me about his dream of travelling around the world.
Расскажи мне о своей работе.	Tell me about your job.

Learn the appropriate form in context: о работе, об отпуске, обо мне. All three forms take the prepositional in this use.

Location and other expressions with в and на

Russian	English
Дима работает в университете.	Dima works at the university.
На пляже было много народу.	There were many people on the beach.
Эта книга на русском языке.	This book is in Russian.
Этот вопрос обсуждался на национальном уровне.	This issue was discussed at the national level.

For place expressions, contrast где? (where?) with куда? (where to?): Он работает в ресторане (he works in a restaurant, prepositional) versus Мы идём в ресторан (we are going to the restaurant, accusative). The language and level examples above are other fixed patterns with на.

Time and circumstances

Russian	English
В марте у меня день рождения.	My birthday is in March.
На прошлой неделе было жарко.	It was hot last week.
Я расскажу тебе об этом при встрече.	I will tell you about it when we meet.

В марте, на прошлой неделе, and при встрече use the prepositional. В среду belongs in the accusative section. При can express circumstances, presence, or a period; its English translation depends on the phrase.

Transport, instruments, and clothing

Use	Russian example	English
Transport	Я добираюсь на работу на машине.	I get to work by car.
Musical instrument	Я умею играть на скрипке.	I can play the violin.
Clothing	Видишь ту девушку в красном платье?	Do you see that girl in the red dress?

На машине, на скрипке, and в красном платье are prepositional phrases. In the transport example, на работу is accusative because it describes the destination.

A quick case comparison

Preposition	Construction	Case
в	в библиотеку — to the library	Accusative
в	в библиотеке — in the library	Prepositional
под	под стол — to a position under the table	Accusative
под	под столом — under the table	Instrumental
с	с яблони — from the apple tree	Genitive
с	с неделю — for about a week	Accusative
с	с Олегом — with Oleg	Instrumental
по	по парку — around the park	Dative
по	по пояс — up to the waist	Accusative

Practise a few phrases at a time. Identify the preposition, its meaning, and the case form, then make your own sentence with the same pattern. Return to Part 1 for the genitive examples whenever you need a comparison.