The prepositional case: plural forms (в городах, на столах, о друзьях)

Мы живём в городах. Книги лежат на столах. Они говорят о друзьях.We live in cities. Books lie on the tables. They talk about friends.

In the plural, the prepositional case follows the same prepositions as in the singular: в and на for где? (The Russian prepositional case: saying where (в доме, на столе, в Москве)), and о / об for what you talk or think about (The prepositional case: talking about something (о / об)). The plural stem comes from the nominative plural (Plural of nouns in the nominative), and the ending is the same for every gender.

Quick shortcut: the prepositional plural ends in -ах after a hard stem and in -ях after a soft stem, for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns alike (в городах, на столах, о неделях).

One ending for every gender: -ах / -ях

After в and на (for где?) and after о, a plural noun ends in -ах when its stem ends in a hard consonant and in -ях when the stem is soft (nouns in -я, -ь, -й, -ие, -ия). Compare the singular and the plural:

After ж, ч, ш, щ the spelling is -ах (о врачах, о вещах). Unlike the genitive plural (The genitive case: plural forms (нет книг, много студентов)), the prepositional plural has no fill vowel: genitive окон, but в окнах.

в and на: where?

The choice between в and на is the same as in the singular (see The Russian prepositional case: saying where (в доме, на столе, в Москве)). With the plural, the question is still где?. For movement (куда?) Russian uses the accusative instead (в города, на столы):

• Дети играют в парках. (Children play in parks.)
• Книги лежат на столах. (Books lie on the tables.)
• Студенты живут в общежитиях. (Students live in dormitories.)
• Цветы стоят в окнах. (Flowers stand in the windows.)
• На уроках мы говорим по-русски. (In lessons we speak Russian.)

о, об, обо: talking about

О (об before a vowel, обо in a few set forms such as обо мне, обо всём, обо всех) names what you talk, think or read about, as in The prepositional case: talking about something (о / об):

• Они говорят о друзьях. (They talk about friends.)
• Мы часто думаем о родителях. (We often think about our parents.)
• Он рассказывает о новых фильмах. (He tells about new films.)
• Мы читаем статью об учителях. (We are reading an article about teachers.)
• Он думает обо всех. (He thinks about everyone.)

Irregular plural stems

The prepositional plural is built from the nominative plural, so irregular plurals carry over, and a plural in stressed -а / -я does not change the ending:

• Мы говорим о детях. (We are talking about the children.)
• Я часто думаю о братьях. (I often think about my brothers.)

Nouns used only in the plural

Several everyday words have no singular, and they take -ах / -ях like any other plural. Some fixed phrases are always in the plural: на каникулах (on holiday), в гостях (visiting), на выходных (at the weekend), в очках and в джинсах (for what someone is wearing):

• Летом мы на каникулах. (In summer we are on holiday.)
• Вечером мы в гостях. (This evening we are visiting friends.)
• На выходных мы дома. (At the weekend we are at home.)
• Он часто думает о деньгах. (He often thinks about money.)
• Она в очках. (She is wearing glasses.)

Adjectives and pronouns

An adjective before the plural noun takes -ых, or -их after г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ and after a soft stem. The full pattern is in Declension of adjectives and pronouns in all cases:

• Мы живём в больших городах. (We live in big cities.)
• Они работают в маленьких магазинах. (They work in small shops.)
• Он в синих джинсах. (He is wearing blue jeans.)
• Мы говорим о русских друзьях. (We are talking about Russian friends.)
• Дети играют на тихих улицах. (Children play in quiet streets.)

Personal pronouns have their own prepositional forms (see Personal pronouns in oblique cases); он, она, они get н- after a preposition. Pronouns that go with a plural noun take the same -ых / -их ending:

• Мы часто говорим о вас. (We often talk about you.)
• Что они думают о нас? (What do they think about us?)
• В этих магазинах всё дорого. (Everything is expensive in these shops.)
• Я думаю о них. (I am thinking about them.)

English nouns do not change after a preposition (in cities, about friends), and the article and the preposition do all the work. Russian puts the case on the noun itself, so a plural noun after в and на (for где?) or after о always needs -ах / -ях, and it is a different form from the genitive plural (друзей but о друзьях).

Common mistakes

• ❌ Мы живём в городы. → ✅ Мы живём в городах. (after в meaning “in”, the plural noun takes -ах / -ях)
• ❌ Книги лежат на столов. → ✅ Книги лежат на столах. (the genitive plural -ов is the wrong form after на meaning “on”)
• ❌ Они говорят о друзей. → ✅ Они говорят о друзьях. (-ей is the genitive plural, the prepositional plural is -ях)
• ❌ Цветы стоят в окон. → ✅ Цветы стоят в окнах. (the prepositional plural has no fill vowel)
• ❌ Я думаю о их. → ✅ Я думаю о них. (after a preposition the pronoun они becomes них)

Quick check

Put the word in brackets into the correct form.

1. Мы живём в ____. (город)
2. Чашки стоят на ____. (стол)
3. Мы говорим о ____. (друзья)
4. Дети учатся в новых ____. (школа)
5. Мы часто думаем о ____. (они)
6. Цветы стоят в ____. (окно)

Key takeaways

• The prepositional plural ends in -ах (hard stem) or -ях (soft stem) for all genders: в городах, на столах, о неделях.
• After ж, ч, ш, щ write -ах (о врачах); there is no fill vowel (в окнах).
• Irregular plurals carry over: о друзьях, о детях, о людях; some nouns are only plural (на каникулах, в гостях, в очках).
• Adjectives take -ых / -их (в больших городах); pronouns are о нас, о вас, о них, обо всех.