What is the difference between на & в?
My beginner's Russian book says that sometimes you have to use на instead of в in a sentence such as "Я иду на почта" but it does not explain why.
Is there a simple explanation to this or would it be best to leave it until I get to a more advanced study of Russian grammer?
Я иду на почтуOriginally Posted by kevinfitch
Generally:
на = on / on to
в = in / in to
в + prepositional case = in (location)
в + accusative case = (in) to (motion)
на + prepositional case = on (location)
на + accusative case = (on) to (motion)
That's the basic difference. However sometimes in English where we use "in" Russians use "on".
Basically в is used for enclosed spaces, buildings, cities, countries, towns, villages.
на is used for open spaces, if you want to specify being on top of something, for events, ect. Also islands.
Я в школе. - I'm at school.
Она живёт в Москве. - She lives in Moscow.
Елена читает в библиотеке. - Yelena is reading in the library.
Я на фестивале. - I'm at the festival.
Я часто хожу на концерты - I often go to concerts.
Птица на библиотеке - The bird is on the library (i.e. on the roof).
Я живу на Кубе - I live in/on Cuba. (Cuba is an island).
Мы были на Красной площади - We were on Red Square.
почта is used with на, it's just something you have to remember.
Я на почте. - I'm at the post office.
Я иду на почту. - I'm going to the post office.
Ingenting kan stoppa mig
In Post-Soviet Russia internet porn downloads YOU!
В Гугле есть неплохой словарик с примерами.
в - http://translate.google.com/translate_d ... ir=ru%7Cen
на - http://translate.google.com/translate_d ... ir=ru%7Cen
"...Важно, чтобы форум оставался местом, объединяющим людей, для которых интересны русский язык и культура. ..." - MasterАdmin (из переписки)
A very strange sentence. It doesn't sound Russian and can be even incomprehensible.
Птица сидит на крыше библиотеки. This variant is ok.
In Russian, all nationalities and their corresponding languages start with a lower-case letter.
Keeping track of на words is tricky for us foreigners. Here is a link to a partial list of them: на words.
If anyone has any additions, do let me know.
Обычно говорят в балете, в опере. Если на, то тогда нужно добавить название балета: Мы были на балете "Лебединое озеро". Что касается оперы, то, по-моему, "на опере" никогда не употребляется.
Опечатка: проспект
Почему "на работе" два раза?
"...Важно, чтобы форум оставался местом, объединяющим людей, для которых интересны русский язык и культура. ..." - MasterАdmin (из переписки)
на заводе
на фабрике
на станции (техобслуживания, водоочистки и пр.)
Но боюсь что со станциями не всё так просто. И с комбинатами тоже.
Для меня
мы были на/в опере, на балете - нормально
в балете - не очень.
в опере - отдаёт стариной и повышенной культурой; похоже на производное от "в театре оперы и балета"
Правда? Нас учили иначе. Как вам звучит это предложение?
Вчера на опере мы впервые слушали новую певицу потрясающего таланта.
А по-моему, нормально.A very strange sentence. It doesn't sound Russian and can be even incomprehensible.
Налево пойдёшь - коня потеряешь, направо пойдёшь - сам голову сложишь.
Прямой путь не предлагать!
Если бы я услышал фразу "мы были в балете", я бы подумал что они танцевали в балете, но никак, что они ходили смотреть балет.
Мы едем в Москву.
Мы едем в Киев.
Мы едем в Россию.
Мы едем на Украину.
Happy prepositioning!
Kevin,
I've put together a summary of в-на usage, along with a description of how they relate to other motion and location phrases. Go to:
http://www.public.asu.edu/~deliving/rus ... fromat.htm
As always, I'm grateful for corrections or suggestions.
Don.
What? Are you saying what I wrote was wrong?Мы едем в Москву.
Мы едем в Киев.
Мы едем в Россию.
Мы едем на Украину.
Happy prepositioning!
Украина is an excpetion taking на, and anyway, the use of в with Украина is now acceptable. I believe Putin says в Украине. But anyway, that's been discussed a number of times on this forum.
Ingenting kan stoppa mig
In Post-Soviet Russia internet porn downloads YOU!
He says a lot of things...
Correct my mistakes and I will give you +1 internets.
Для меня странно. Я бы исправила на "Вчера в опере..."
Кстати, вся фраза звучит немного не по-русски. "...новую певицу потрясающего таланта..." -
In Russian, all nationalities and their corresponding languages start with a lower-case letter.
You see, if you think that Ukraine is just an exception, then here are a few more "exceptions":What? Are you saying what I wrote was wrong?
Украина is an excpetion taking на, and anyway, the use of в with Украина is now acceptable. I believe Putin says в Украине. But anyway, that's been discussed a number of times on this forum.
Мы едем на Камчатку.
Мы едем на Русь.
Мы едем на Смоленщину.
By the way, Putin may not be an ultimate source for linguistic wisdom..
Also, don't be alarmed, I'm not saying that you're wrong, I'm just saying things are slightly more complex. Exceptions "which are there to only justify the rule" is definitely our invention.
Дык, Камчатка - полуостров
Смоленщина - ласковое прозвище ( В Смоленскую область ...)
Suppose you're right. Then how would you explain:Дык, Камчатка - полуостров
Смоленщина - ласковое прозвище ( В Смоленскую область ...)
Мы едем в Крым.
which is also полуостров?
Also "Смоленщина" is just a traditional way of defining an area. For example, in literature "Литовщина" would have a slightly negative meaning because of traditionaly tense relationships.
I didn't say Ukraine was the only exception. The person asked a simple question and I gave a simple answer explaining the basic difference between в and на. I did not claim to have produced an exhaustive list of the uses of the two prepositions. Ukraine is an exception because almost all other countries that are not islands take в.You see, if you think that Ukraine is just an exception, then here are a few more "exceptions":What? Are you saying what I wrote was wrong?
Украина is an exception taking на, and anyway, the use of в with Украина is now acceptable. I believe Putin says в Украине. But anyway, that's been discussed a number of times on this forum.
Мы едем на Камчатку.
Мы едем на Русь.
Мы едем на Смоленщину.
By the way, Putin may not be an ultimate source for linguistic wisdom..
Also, don't be alarmed, I'm not saying that you're wrong, I'm just saying things are slightly more complex. Exceptions "which are there to only justify the rule" is definitely our invention.
A beginner at Russian can't be expected to know, or simply learn what preposition goes with each noun, if you give them basic "rules of thumb" they can make educated predictions as to what the preposition will be. Anything that doesn't fit these rules is considered an exception and is learnt as the learner comes across them. Or if you think it would be more useful go ahead and write out all the nouns in the Russian dictionary indicating whether they take в or на.
And as for в Украине. The government of Ukraine some time back asked that in Russian people said "в Украине". Thus I believe officially on documents and such, Russia will say в Украине. Obviously everyday folk still say на, but the variant with в is gaining usage.
Ingenting kan stoppa mig
In Post-Soviet Russia internet porn downloads YOU!
На АляскуNothing "ласковое" about that.
В Гренландию
На Кубу
На остров Тайвань - В провинцию Тайвань ( Я из Китая)
Так сложилось исторически , и будет изменяться в дальнейшем.
Официальная позиция Украины - В Украину
Литовцев не любили, поэтому и не ласково. (если точнее - воевали там часто
поэтому негативный оттенок - "сгинул на литовщине" )
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