Уро́к 2
2.3 Грамма́тика – Prepositional Case -ия / -ие endings
Грамма́тика
If my calculations are correct, then the introduction to the Prepositional case, is not too bad. You learned that you typically use the prepositions в / на and add -e (sometimes -у) to a noun when you want to answer the question Где?
There is one more general rule to add to those endings. As you know, some feminine and neuter nouns can end in -ия and -ие, respectively, as in:
Feminine – Росси́я ‘Russia’
Neuter – общежи́тие ‘dormitory’
In Prepositional case forms, or to say ‘in Russia’ or ‘at the dorm’, drop the final vowel (я, е) and then add-и (not -е):
Росси́я >> в Росси́и
общежи́тие >> в общежи́тии
Осторожно! (Careful!)
1. Feminine nouns that end in -я, and -ья, however, behave like other feminine nouns, например:
ба́ня ‘bath house / sauna’
в ба́не ‘at the bath house / sauna’
статья́ ‘article’
в статье́ ‘in the article’
2. Neuter nouns, likewise, can end in -е, -ье, and they behave just like other neuter nouns:
мо́ре ‘sea’
в мо́ре ‘in the sea’
пече́нье ‘cookie’
в пече́нье ‘in the cookie’
3. Finally, one more mention about masculine nouns that end in the soft consonant -й. For these, drop the final soft consonant -й and the add the Prepositional ending -е, например:
в музе́е ‘at the museum’
