Книга на столе. Мы живём в Москве.The book is on the table. We live in Moscow.

To say where something or someone is, Russian uses the preposition в (in) or на (on, at) followed by a noun in the prepositional case. The question is где? (where?). It is called prepositional because it is only used after a preposition.

Quick shortcut: в / на + noun with the ending -е (в доме, на столе, в школе, в Москве). Feminine nouns in -ь take -и (в тетради), and nouns in -ия and -ие end in -ии (в России, в здании).

The endings

Nominative Prepositional Example
masculine дом, стол, город -е: доме, столе, городе Книга на столе. (The book is on the table.)
neuter окно, море -е: окне, море Цветок в окне. (The flower is in the window.)
feminine in -а школа, Москва -е: школе, Москве Дети в школе. (The children are at school.)
feminine in -я кухня, неделя -е: кухне, неделе Мама на кухне. (Mum is in the kitchen.)
feminine in -ь тетрадь, дверь -и: тетради, двери Ручка в тетради. (The pen is in the notebook.)
in -ия, -ие Россия, здание -ии: России, здании Мы живём в России. (We live in Russia.)

The genders are explained in Noun gender. Sentences like Мама на кухне need no verb in the present, as in Zero copula and есть.

A few masculine nouns in -у

Some common masculine nouns take a stressed -у instead of -е after в and на: в лесу (in the forest), в саду (in the garden), на полу (on the floor), в шкафу (in the cupboard), в углу (in the corner). It is easiest to learn them as ready phrases.

в or на?

В usually means "inside": в доме, в городе, в комнате, в парке, в стране. На often means "on a surface" and is used in many fixed expressions of place or activity: на столе, на улице, на площади, на концерте, на уроке. This is only a tendency (на кухне is "in the kitchen"), so the preposition is best learned together with the noun.

Some words need to be learned with their preposition, because English prepositions do not predict them:

  • в: в школе, в университете, в офисе, в магазине, в банке
  • на: на работе, на почте, на вокзале, на заводе, на факультете

Compare Я в школе (I'm at school) with Я на работе (I'm at work).

дома, здесь, там

The words дома (at home), здесь (here) and там (there) already mean a place, so they do not take в or на: Он дома. Мы здесь. For "in the house", use в доме.

Adjectives, plurals and "where" or "where to"

An adjective before the noun also changes in the prepositional case: в новом доме (in a new house), в новой школе (at a new school). In the plural the ending is -ах / -ях: в школах (in schools), в городах (in cities), на столах (on tables).

The prepositional case answers где? (where?). For movement, Russian uses the accusative case instead and asks куда? (where to?), as in The accusative case: direction with в/на (куда?): Я в школе (I'm at school) but Я иду в школу (I'm going to school).

Common mistakes

  • ❌ Дети в школа. → ✅ Дети в школе. (в needs the prepositional case: -а becomes -е)
  • ❌ Книга на стол. → ✅ Книга на столе. (на needs the prepositional case here too)
  • ❌ Мы живём в Москва. → ✅ Мы живём в Москве. (names of places change as well)
  • ❌ Я работаю на офисе. → ✅ Я работаю в офисе. (офис takes в, not на)
  • ❌ Он в работе. → ✅ Он на работе. (работа takes на)

Quick check

Which form fits each gap?

  1. (дом) Книга в ____.
  2. (школа) Дети в ____.
  3. (стол) Чашка на ____.
  4. (Москва) Мы живём в ____.
  5. (работа) Он на ____.
Show answers
  1. доме   2. школе   3. столе   4. Москве   5. работе

Key takeaways

  • В / на + the prepositional case answers где?
  • Most singular nouns take -е (в доме, в школе, на столе, в Москве); feminine nouns in -ь take -и, and nouns in -ия and -ие end in -ии.
  • A few masculine nouns take stressed -у (в лесу, в саду, на полу); the plural ending is -ах / -ях.
  • В usually means "inside", на often means "on" and appears in many fixed expressions of place or activity; many words need to be learned with their preposition (на работе, в школе).
  • Дома, здесь, там take no preposition.