The Russian genitive after из, с, от, у, без, для (из школы, от друга, у меня, без сахара)

Я иду из школы. Письмо от друга. Это подарок для мамы.I am coming from school. A letter from a friend. This is a present for Mum.

Some Russian prepositions take a noun or pronoun in the genitive. This lesson covers six of the most common: из and с (coming from a place), от (from a person or a source), у (at someone's place; having), без (without) and для (for). (С takes the genitive in the sense "from, off"; in the sense "with" it is followed by the instrumental.) The nouns after them take the genitive endings you already know from The genitive case: possession and "у меня есть" and The genitive case: plural forms.

Quick shortcut: ask откуда? (where from?) and answer with из or с + genitive (из школы, с работы), usually the opposite of the preposition you use for где? (в → из, на → с); a person you come from takes от, and у, без, для mean "at, without, for", all with the genitive.

из and с: where you come from

The question откуда? ("where from?") is answered with из or с. They are the reverse of the two prepositions that answer где? and куда?, so a noun usually keeps the same preposition in all three questions: в goes with из, на goes with с.

The first two columns are in The prepositional case: location (в / на + prepositional) and The accusative case: direction with в/на (куда?). Which noun takes в and which takes на is partly a matter of the word itself (на работе, на почте, but в школе), so it is best to learn the preposition with the noun and then use its partner for "from".

• Я иду из школы. (I am coming home from school.)
• Она вернулась с работы в шесть. (She came back from work at six.)
• Он приехал из Москвы. (He has come from Moscow.)

Из also tells where a person or thing comes from or what it is made of, and it can mean "one of":

• Я из России. Мы из Италии. (I am from Russia. We are from Italy.)
• Стол из дерева. (A wooden table, a table made of wood.)
• Это один из моих друзей. (This is one of my friends.)

С with the genitive can also mean "off the surface of something": Книга упала со стола. (The book fell off the table.) Before some groups of consonants с becomes со (со стола, со вторника).

С can be followed by the genitive ("from, off") or by the instrumental ("with", as in The instrumental case with "с" (together with)). The case of the noun tells you which one it is: ✅ Я иду с работы (from work) and ✅ Я иду с братом (with my brother).

от: from a person or a source

Use от for something or someone that is the source of a thing or a message, or a point you move away from:

• Я получил письмо от друга. (I received a letter from a friend.)
• Это подарок от мамы. (This is a present from Mum.)
• Метро недалеко от дома. (The metro is not far from the house.)

With a person, от is the counterpart of к ("towards a person"), as in The dative case with к and по: Я иду к врачу (I am going to the doctor's), Я иду от врача (I am coming from the doctor's). For a place, the preposition normally follows the pair for "where": ✅ Я иду из больницы (out of the building), but ✅ Я иду с вокзала (Russian says на вокзале). От with a place only says that you are moving away from it as a point in space: Я иду от больницы к метро. (I am walking from the hospital to the metro.)

у: at someone's place, and having

У means "at" or "by" a person or a thing, and with a person it is also the start of the У меня есть … construction:

• Я живу у друга. (I live at a friend's place.)
• Стол стоит у окна. (The table is by the window.)
• У меня есть сестра. (I have a sister.)
• У меня нет сестры. (I don't have a sister.)

The person who has something is in the genitive after у, and the thing they have is in the nominative with есть or in the genitive with нет, as in The genitive case: absence with "нет". The same pattern works with a name or a noun: У Ани есть собака. У брата нет машины.

без: without

Без means "without" and is the opposite of с + instrumental:

• Чай без сахара, пожалуйста. (Tea without sugar, please.)
• Кофе с молоком или без молока? (Coffee with milk or without milk?)
• Мы не начнём без тебя. (We will not start without you.)

для: for

Для means "for" when something is meant for a person or a purpose:

• Это подарок для мамы. (This is a present for Mum.)
• Книги для детей. (Books for children.)
• Это важно для меня. (This is important to me.)
• Здесь нет места для машины. (There is no room for a car here.)

The person who gets something that is handed over is in the dative (Я дал книгу маме), but для says that the thing was meant for them (книга для мамы).

Pronouns after a preposition

Personal pronouns are in the genitive after these prepositions: меня, тебя, его, её, нас, вас, их. The forms of the third person (его, её, их) get an н- in front when a preposition comes before them, as in Personal pronouns in oblique cases (меня, мне, мной, о нём):

• У него есть собака. (He has a dog.)
• Письмо от неё. (A letter from her.)
• Мы идём без них. (We are going without them.)

Several other prepositions (до, после, около, вместо, кроме) also take the genitive, but these six are the ones to start with.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Я иду из школа. → ✅ Я иду из школы. (the noun after из is in the genitive)
• ❌ Я иду из работы. → ✅ Я иду с работы. (работа goes with на, so "from" is с)
• ❌ Я иду от врач. → ✅ Я иду от врача. (the genitive of a masculine noun is врача)
• ❌ У он есть собака. → ✅ У него есть собака. (н- before the genitive of он after a preposition)
• ❌ Чай без сахар. → ✅ Чай без сахара. (a noun after без goes into the genitive)
• ❌ Это подарок для я. → ✅ Это подарок для меня. (the pronoun is in the genitive after для)

Quick check

Put the word in brackets into the correct form.

1. Мы идём домой с ____. (работа, "coming home from work")
2. Он приехал из ____. (Москва)
3. Это письмо от ____. (друг)
4. У ____ есть сестра. (он)
5. Я пью чай без ____. (сахар)
6. Это книга для ____. (дети)

Key takeaways

• The genitive follows из, от, у, без, для, and с in the sense "from, off": из школы, с работы, от друга, у окна, без сахара, для мамы.
• Из and с answer откуда? and usually mirror в and на: в школе → из школы, на работе → с работы. Which noun takes which preposition is partly a matter of the word itself, so it is best to learn them together.
• От is used for a person or a source (письмо от друга) and is the counterpart of к; у says "at someone's place" and starts У меня есть … and У меня нет ….
• С + genitive means "from, off" and с + instrumental means "with"; без is "without" and для means "meant for".
• After a preposition, его, её, их become него, неё, них: у него, от неё, без них.