Prepositional Case

Modifiers

Stems & Endings

• Russian nouns and modifiers have stems and endings. The stems are more or less fixed, while the endings change, predictably and consistently, according to the gender, number and FUNCTION of the noun.
• Noun’s are the boss: They tell the modifiers what to do.
• Every noun has a function in a sentence: Subject, object, indirect object, object of a preposition, etc.

Prepositional Case

• Certain prepositions “govern” the prepositional case. That means that the nouns that are the objects of the preposition take prepositional endings.
• The three most important prepositions that govern the prepositional case are В (in, at) НА (in, on at), О (about).

When do we use it?

• Noun phrases after the prepositions в, на, о (in, on/at, about)
• To indicate WHERE something takes place… “in or at” we (mostly) use в…

except…

• EVENTS and OPEN SPACE use на, “at or on”
• Events are location neutral. You can do it anywhere.

Can you do it in the bathroom?

​

​

Noun Endings

• NOUNS:
• Singular nouns (m, f, n) take –е as their ending.
• Plural nouns take –ах as their ending (sometimes, predictably, -ях)
• But, remember:

Nouns ending in -ие, -ия, -ий + -e🡪-ии (в России)

Some nouns are indeclinable! Я жил в Огайо.

Modifier Endings

• Modifiers
• Modifiers modifying masculine and neuter nouns in the prepositional case take –ом (sometimes, predictably, -ем)
• Modifiers modifying feminine nouns in the prepositional case take –ой (sometimes, predictably, -ей/-ёй)
• Modifiers modifying plural nouns in the prepositional case take –ых
• Don’t forget spelling rules! 5 letter/7 letter:
• Я учился в хорошей школе. Я жил в маленьких городах.

​

Interrogative Pronouns

• As pronouns, question words like кто and что also decline (change):

кто--»О ком? Что--»О чём? � About whom? About what?

​

​

Образцы

• Я живу в (большо́й дом)
• Stems:

больш-�дом-

• Endings:

Modifier -ом�Noun -е

• Я живу в (большо́й дом) --» Я живу в большО́М до́мЕ

​