Category: "Na"
На (часть первая)
The first meaning of the preposition на is “on.” In this meaning it is complemented by the prepositional case.
| Книга на столе. | The book is on the table. |
| Я забыл свой бумажник на полке. | I left my wallet on the shelf. |
| Вова спокойно наблюдал, как комар на его руке пил его кровь. Он удивился, что не больно. | Vladimir quietly observed the mosquito on his hand drink his blood. He was surprised that it didn't hurt. |
| На крыше больницы стоит вертолёт, готовый к спасению жертв несчастных случаев. | On the roof of the hospital there is a helicopter ready to rescue accident victims. |
На (motion)
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. |
На (location)
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? |