The Proper Locative Case: Location and Topic
The Locative case (Prepositional) specifies location ('in', 'on', 'at') or the topic of discussion ('about'). It is unique because it is always used with a preposition, such as у/ў (in), на (on), or пра (about).
Nouns: Endings vary based on gender, number, and hard/soft stem.
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: Ending -е or -у. (e.g., у доме - in a house, пра чалаве́ка - about a person, у го́радзе - in a city, на по́лі - in a field)
- Singular Feminine: Common ending is -е or -і (after certain consonants). (e.g., на раце́ - on a river, пра сясцру́ - about a sister, на зямлі́ - on the earth, у шко́ле - in a school)
- Plural (all genders): Often ends in -ах / -ях (hard/soft). (e.g., у домах - in houses, пра людзе́й - about people, у гарада́х - in cities, на рэ́ках - on rivers)
Adjectives:
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: ending -ым (hard) / -ім (soft). (e.g., у до́брым до́ме - in a good house, пра сíняга чалаве́ка - about a blue person)
- Singular Feminine: ending -ай (hard) / -яй (soft). (e.g., на до́брай рацэ́ - on a good river, пра сíнюю жа́нчыну - about a blue woman)
- Plural (all genders): hard -ых, soft -іх. (e.g., у до́брых домах - in good houses, пра сíніх людзе́й - about blue people)
Examples: Мая́ кнíга на стале́ (My book is on the table). Мы гаво́рым пра наш дом (We are talking about our house). Яны́ жыву́ць у вялі́кім го́радзе (They live in a big city). Дзе́ці гуля́юць у двара́х (Children are playing in the yards).