Уро́к 2
2.2 Grammar: Prepositional Case
Люби́мая Грамма́тика
Imagine if you wanted to say more than just здесь, там, тут, до́ма. What would that be like in Russian? Well, since the question is now officially out there, watch the following.
You can read ahead, but the video is meant to help you figure things out before reading through a bunch of grammar rules. If you skipped the video (and I’m not saying you did), back up and take a minute to watch it. TRY to figure out what’s going on. And notice that I have NO IDEA where the cat is.
Что э́то тако́е???!!!
Watch more on this here:
The Prepositional Case will let us express more specified location of things and people than simply saying ‘здесь’ or ‘там’.
Наприме́р:
Где А́ня? ‘Where is Anya?’
Она́ в ресторане. ‘She’s at a restaurant.’
[ресторан >> в ресторане]
Где мой телефо́н? ‘ ‘Where’s my phone?’
Он на столе́. ‘It is on the table.’
[стол >> на столе́]
Где моя́ ру́чка? ‘Where is my pen?
’Она́ в су́мке. ‘It is in the bag.’
[су́мка >> в су́мке]
Где му́ха? ‘Where is the fly?’
Она́ на окне́. ‘It is on the window.’
[окно́ >> на окне́]
Can you see a pattern?
To describe location in Russian, after the prepositions ‘в’ and ‘на’ you must add an ending to the location noun. In these examples, we add -е to the location noun.
Location: The Rules!!!
If the location noun ends in a consonant, just add -е.
If the noun ends in -а or -о, drop the vowel, and then add -е.
If the noun ends in a SOFT SIGN -ь,
**Remember, you have to be told if a soft sign noun is masculine or feminine. Look it up.***
- if it’s masculine, add -e (YAY!): слова́рь >> на словаре́
- if it’s feminine, add -и: пло́щадь >> на пло́щади
This change in ending indicates to speakers that the noun is now a location word. It is where something is located.
Аудирование
Listening is one of the four skills you’re developing. Read and listen to the following Russian questions that all ask Где? ‘Where?’ You learned in Unit 1 how to say things are ‘here’ or ‘there’, and now we get to answer this question – чуть точнее – with a little more detail. Just listen and read along. Can you hear the new case ending? Notice the translations in English.
| Russian | English | |
|---|---|---|
| -Где ру́чка? -Она́ в рюкзаке́. |
-Where is (my) pen? -It’s in the backpack. |
|
| -Где туале́т? –В рестора́не есть. |
-Where’s the bathroom? –In the restaurant there’s one. |
|
| -Где соба́ка? -Она́ здесь в кварти́ре. |
-Where’s the dog? -She’s here in the apartment. |
|
| -Где мои́ ве́щи? -Они́ здесь в чемода́не. |
-Where are my things? -They’re here in the suitcase. |
|
| -Где каранда́ш? -Он на столе́. |
-Where is the pencil? -It’s on the table. |
|
| -Где Бартон Спрингз? –В парке́ Зилкер. |
-Where is Barton Springs? -It’s in Zilker Park. |
|
| -Где па́спорт? -Он в ко́мнате. |
-Where is (my) passport? -It’s in the room. |
|
| -Где Аля? -Она́ на рабо́те. |
-Where is Alya? -She’s at work. |
