LinguaThe first case with a job of its own
Until now every noun you met stood in its dictionary form. From here on nouns change their ending according to the job they do in the sentence, and the job comes first: this unit is about the ending that answers Где?
The rule is short. After в or на, a noun that names a place takes -е. That is it for the vast majority of words.
| Dictionary form | Where? | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| магазин | в магазине | in the shop |
| школа | в школе | at school |
| театр | в театре | at the theatre |
| почта | на почте | at the post office |
| работа | на работе | at work |
| улица | на улице | in the street |
в or на: the choice is not free
В means inside something with walls; на means on a surface or at an open place. But the split is also just convention, and a dozen very ordinary words simply take на for no visible reason. Learn those with the preposition attached.
| Always в | Always на |
|---|---|
| в магазине | на работе |
| в школе | на почте |
| в театре | на улице |
| в комнате | на вокзале |
| в парке | на кухне |
Asking the question
Где? is answered by this ending and no other. The verb of the sentence does not matter – what matters is that the place is where somebody or something is, not where they are heading.
Я работаю в магазине.I work in a shop.
Где вы? – Я в парке.Where are you? – I am in the park.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| магазин | shop | Она работает в магазине. She works in a shop. |
| школа | school | Дети сейчас в школе. The children are at school now. |
| работа | work, job | Он ещё на работе. He is still at work. |
| почта | post office | Я был на почте. I was at the post office. |
| музей | museum | В музее сегодня тихо. It is quiet in the museum today. |
| улица | street; outdoors | На улице холодно. It is cold outside. |
| парк | park | Парк рядом с домом. The park is next to the house. |
| комната | room | В комнате два окна. There are two windows in the room. |
| кухня | kitchen | Мама на кухне. Mum is in the kitchen. |
| университет | university | Она учится в университете. She studies at university. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which form answers the question Где?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.