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 в (in), на (on), or о/об (about).
Nouns: Endings vary based on gender, number, and hard/soft stem.
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: Ending -е. (e.g., в до́ме - in a house, о челове́ке - about a person, в го́роде - in a city, на по́ле - in a field)
- Singular Feminine: Common ending is -е or -и (after certain letters). (e.g., на реке́ - on a river, о сестре́ - about a sister, на земле́ - on the earth, в шко́ле - in a school)
- Plural (all genders): Often ends in -ах / -ях (hard/soft). (e.g., в дома́х - in houses, о людях - about people, в города́х - in cities, на ре́ках - on rivers)
Adjectives:
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: ending -ом (hard) / -ем (soft). (e.g., в до́бром до́ме - in a good house, о си́нем челове́ке - about a blue person)
- Singular Feminine: ending -ой (hard) / -ей (soft). (e.g., на до́брой реке́ - on a good river, о си́ней же́нщине - about a blue woman)
- Plural (all genders): hard -ых, soft -их. (e.g., в до́брых дома́х - in good houses, о си́них лю́дях - about blue people)
Examples: Моя́ кни́га на столе́ (My book is on the table). Мы говори́м о на́шем до́ме (We are talking about our house). Они́ живу́т в большо́м го́роде (They live in a big city). Де́ти игра́ют во двора́х (Children are playing in the yards).