Categories: "Prepositions"

К (motion)

by Don  

The Russians also use the preposition к to mean “to” in the sense of “to someone's home/place.” К becomes ко before certain words, most particularly in the phrase «ко мне».

— Где ты был?
— Я ходил к Тане.
“Where were you?”
“I went to Tanya's place.”
Я быстренько зайду к Ивановым за сумкой. I'm going to take a quick run over to the Ivanovs' to get my purse.
Вечерами по вторникам Зоя и Боря ходили ко мне заниматься. On Tuesday evenings Zoya and Borya would come to my place to study.
Саш, отнеси эти грибы к бабушке. Sasha, take these mushrooms to Grandmother's place.
Маш, пойди к дядя Коле и попроси у него отвёртку. Masha, go to Uncle Kolya's and ask him for a screwdriver.
Иди к чёрту! Go to the devil!

That last sentence, of course, is rude. It has about the same emotional punch as “Go to hell” does in English.

У (location)

by Don  

The Russians also use the preposition у to mean “at” in the sense of “at someone's home/place.” In this sense it is similar to chez in French.

— Где ты был?
— У Тани.
“Where were you?”
“At Tanya's place.”
Завтра мы будем ужинать у Ивановых. Tomorrow we are having dinner at the Ivanovs.
Давай заниматься завтра вечером у тебя. Let's study at your place tomorrow evening.

Actually the meaning of у is a bit broader. It can also mean a person's office or workplace:

— Где ты была?
— У декана.
“Where were you?”
“At the dean's office.”
Мы провели всё утро у врача. We spent the entire morning at the doctor's office.

На (motion)

by Don  

The second-most common word for “to” in Russian is “на” followed by the accusative case. This is potentially confusing because “на” followed by the prepositional case often means “at.” Observe the contrast:

Мама на работе? Is Mom at work?
Мама поехала на работу. Mom has gone to work.
На почте покупаем марки и принимаем факсы. We buy stamps and receive faxes at the post office.
Почтальон поехал на почту. The postman has gone to the post office.

“На” followed by accusative can also be translated as “onto”:

Кошка прыгнула на стол. The cat jumped onto the table.
Мой брат влез на крышу. My brother climbed onto the roof.

В (motion)

by Don  

The most common word for “to” in Russian is “в” followed by the accusative case. This is tricky for Gringos because “в” followed by prepositional means “at.” Observe the contrast:

Mама в магазине. “Mom is at the store.”
Mама пошла в магазин. “Mom has gone to the store.”
Лена занимается в библотеке. “Lena is studying at the library.”
Лена пошла в библотеку. “Lena has gone to the library.”

“В” can also indicate motion and be translated as “into”:

Машина въехала в туннель. The car drove into the tunnel.
Учительница вошла в комнату. The teacher walked into the room.

На (location)

by Don  

Although the most common word for “at” in Russian is «в» followed by the prepositional case, there is a set of very common nouns that use «на» followed by the prepositional case. Among the most common phrases are:

Мама на работе? Is Mom at work?
Вчера мы были на концерте Земфиры. Last night we were at a Zemfira concert
На почте покупаем марки и принимаем факсы. We buy stamps and receive faxes at the post office.
Сегодня на собрании было очень скучно. It was really boring at the meeting today.

Learning the на words is not all that difficult: by my count there are fewer than a hundred. You can take a look at my most recent list here.

На can also be translated as “on”:

За ночь у меня на лице появился огромный прыщик. Overnight an enormous pimple appeared on my face.
На верхнем этаже того здания находится частный клуб, члены которого тайно управляют всей Америкой. On the top floor of that building there is a private club, whose members secretly control all of America.
На днях на горе Леммон я увидел двух пум. A few days ago I saw two pumas on Mount Lemmon.
Интересно, есть ли на Марсе жизнь? I wonder if there is life on Mars?

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