| nom. | gen. | dat. | acc. | inst. | prep. |
In this post, we’ll be learning how to form adjectives in the prepositional case. If you don’t know how adjectives function, please check out the nominative case of adjectives before reading onward.
| Purpose |
Adjectives are used to describe.
They answer the question какой? in the nominative. In the prepositional, they answer the same question, but differently. Observe:
| какой? [what? what kind of?] |
| – | m. | f. | n. | pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | –ой? | –ая? | –ое? | –ие? |
| prep. | –ом? | –ой? | –ом? | –их? |
Confused? Let’s look below to see how these questions get answered.
| –Какая это проблема? –Сложная проблема. -What kind of problem is this? -A complex problem. |
| –Вы думаете о какой проблеме? –О сложной проблеме. -What kind of problem are you thinking about? -A complex problem. |
There are many more examples below.
| Formation |
In the table below, you’ll observe the typical endings for the nominative case. Follow the pattern to form the prepositional of these adjectives.
| – | Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plur. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -ый | -ая | -ое | -ые |
| prep. | –ом | –ой | –ом | –ых |
| Nominative | Prepositional |
|---|---|
| Это добрый мальчик. This is a kind boy. [какой мальчик?] | Книга рассказывает о добром мальчике. The book is about a kind boy. [о каком мальчике?] |
| Это вкусная еда. This is tasty food. [какая еда?] | Я пишу о вкусной еде. I write about tasty food. [о какой еде?] |
| Там кукурузное поле. There’s a corn field. [какое поле?] | Дети прячутся в кукурузном поле. Children are hiding in a corn field. [в каком поле?] |
| Вот романтические романы. Here are romantic novels. [какие романы?] | Она думает о романтических романах. She thinks about romantic novels. [о каких романах?] |
More examples for greater clarity.
| В статье речь идёт об известной кинозвезде. The article is about a well-known movie star. |
| Он всё знает о современном исскустве. He knows everything about modern art. |
| Она думает о богатом мужчине. She’s thinking about a rich man. |
| Мы сидим на удобных диванах. We’re sitting on comfortable couches. |
| Good news! Remember in the accusative case endings differed between animate and inanimate nouns? Well, none of that applies in the other cases. |
| Soft Adjectives |
Soft adjectives are far scarcer than hard adjectives in Russian. There are some 40 or so in existence.
| – | Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plur. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom. | -ий | -яя | -ее | -ие |
| prep. | –ем | –ей | –ем | –их |
| Вот синий ремень. Here’s a [dark] blue belt. [какой ремень?] | Рубашка лежит на синем ремне. The shirt is on the [dark] blue belt. [на каком ремне?] |
| Вот синяя рубашка. Here’s a [dark] blue shirt. [какая рубашка?] | Книга лежит на синей рубашке. The book is on the [dark] blue shirt. [на какой рубашке?] |
| Это весеннее утро. This is a spring morning. [какое утро?] | Она пишет о весеннем утре. She writes about a spring morning. [о каком утре?] |
| Это осенние вечера. These are autumn evenings. [какие вечера?] | Я пишу об осенних вечерах. I write about autumn evenings. [о каких вечерах?] |
More in-context examples:
| Ученики пишут сочинение о Далньнем Востоке. The students are writing an essay about the Far East. |
| Картина висит на синей стене. The picture is hanging on the [dark] blue wall. |
| Он думает о вечернем небе. The blanket is on the summer dresses. |
| Одеяло лежит на весенних платьях. The blanket is on the summer dresses. |
| For more information on soft adjectives, please click here. |
Quizzes to come eventually.
And that’s just about all you need to know about adjectives in the prepositional case.
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