English funnels an enormous range of meanings through "on," "in," "at," "by," and "along," and lets word order and context do the rest. Russian distributes that same work across three prepositions whose senses overlap just enough to confuse — по, на, and в — and which take different cases. The trap is to translate the English preposition directly ("on Mondays" → на?). The reliable method is the reverse: identify the *relationship you are expressing — a path? a channel? a surface? an event? an enclosed place? a recurring day? — and let that trigger the Russian preposition. This page is a situation-to-preposition lookup, with the underlying logic behind each choice.
The lookup table: situation → preposition
Find your situation on the left; the preposition and its case follow.
| You want to say… | Russian | Why |
|---|---|---|
| on Mondays (regularly) | по понеде́льникам (+ dat.) | по = recurring days |
| by phone, on TV | по телефо́ну, по телеви́зору (+ dat.) | по = channel / medium |
| along / around a place | по у́лице, по го́роду (+ dat.) | по = path, no single goal |
| a textbook on / exam in physics | уче́бник по фи́зике (+ dat.) | по = subject / field |
| according to plan | по пла́ну (+ dat.) | по = criterion |
| to / at work | на рабо́ту / рабо́те | на = activity zone (lexical) |
| at a concert / lesson / meeting | на конце́рте, уро́ке, собра́нии | на = event |
| on a surface | на столе́, стене́, полу́ | на = surface |
| look at something | смотре́ть на (+ acc.) | на = directed gaze |
| in Russia / in the house | в Росси́и, в до́ме | в = enclosed place |
| on a single Monday | в понеде́льник (+ acc.) | в = one specific day |
The three core ideas
Strip away the dozens of English translations and each preposition has a recognisable centre of gravity.
- по — "by / along / according to / on regular days." A relationship of path, channel, criterion, field, or routine. It almost always takes the dative.
- на — "on / at" for a surface, an event, or an activity, plus a memorized lexical list. Takes the prepositional for location, the accusative for motion or a directed gaze.
- в — "in / into" an enclosed, bounded place. Takes the prepositional for location, the accusative for motion or a single point in time.
По доро́ге на рабо́ту я всегда́ слу́шаю по́дкаст по исто́рии.
On my way to work I always listen to a history podcast. — three of the patterns at once: по доро́ге (path), на рабо́ту (activity zone), по исто́рии (subject).
По — path, channel, criterion, field, routine
По almost always takes the dative. It is the preposition of relationships rather than containers or surfaces: moving along something, transmitting via something, judging by something, the field of a study, the days on which something recurs. The detail and the full list of senses are on the many uses of по; here is the decision-relevant core.
По выходны́м мы обы́чно гуля́ем по на́бережной.
On weekends we usually stroll along the embankment. — по выходны́м (recurring days) and по на́бережной (path along a surface), both по + dative.
Дава́й обсу́дим э́то по телефо́ну — так бы́стрее.
Let's discuss this by phone — it's faster that way. — по телефо́ну: по = the channel of communication.
Э́то са́мый поня́тный уче́бник по грамма́тике, что я ви́дел.
This is the clearest grammar textbook I've seen. — уче́бник по грамма́тике: по = the subject/field.
На — surface, event, activity, and the directed gaze
На marks a surface, an event, or an activity zone, plus a fixed lexical list (на рабо́те, на по́чте, на ку́хне) that you memorize word by word. For location it takes the prepositional (на столе́, на рабо́те); for motion toward or for a directed gaze it takes the accusative (на стол, смотре́ть на). The choice between в and на for a given place is itself a separate, lexical problem covered in depth on choosing в vs на.
Вчера́ на конце́рте я случа́йно встре́тил ста́рого дру́га.
Yesterday at the concert I bumped into an old friend. — на конце́рте: на + event (prepositional).
Посмотри́ на э́ту фотогра́фию — тебе́ не ка́жется, что э́то он?
Look at this photo — don't you think it's him? — смотре́ть/посмотре́ть на + accusative: the directed gaze.
Ключи́ лежа́т на столе́, а су́мка — на сту́ле.
The keys are on the table and the bag is on the chair. — на + prepositional for surfaces.
В — the enclosed, bounded place
В is the preposition of enclosure: inside a building, a room, a city, a country, a vehicle. For location it takes the prepositional (в Росси́и, в шко́ле); for motion or a single point in time it takes the accusative (в Москву́, в понеде́льник). If the place has walls or boundaries and you are inside it, в is your default.
Они́ живу́т в небольшо́й кварти́ре в це́нтре Москвы́.
They live in a small flat in the centre of Moscow. — в кварти́ре, в це́нтре: enclosed/bounded places, prepositional.
В четве́рг у меня́ собесе́дование, поэ́тому в сре́ду я гото́влюсь.
On Thursday I have an interview, so on Wednesday I'm preparing. — в + accusative for a single specific day.
The distinguishing insight: ask about the relationship, not the English word
The reason these three blur is that English reuses "on," "at," "in," and "by" across unrelated relationships, so the English preposition is a useless guide. "On Mondays," "on the table," "on the phone," and "on TV" all use English "on," yet Russian splits them into по понеде́льникам, на столе́, по телефо́ну, по телеви́зору. The fix is to bypass the English word entirely and name the relationship: is it a path / channel / criterion / field / routine → по; a surface / event / activity / directed target → на; an enclosed place → в. Then attach the case from the meaning (motion → accusative, location → prepositional, and по → dative as default). Identify the relationship first, and the preposition follows.
Common Mistakes
❌ На понеде́льникам я хожу́ в бассе́йн.
Wrong — recurring days take по + dative plural: по понеде́льникам, not на.
✅ По понеде́льникам я хожу́ в бассе́йн.
On Mondays I go to the pool. — по + dative plural for a routine.
❌ Поговори́м на телефо́не ве́чером.
Wrong — the phone as a channel is по телефо́ну; на телефо́не means physically on the device.
✅ Поговори́м по телефо́ну ве́чером.
Let's talk on the phone this evening. — по + dative for the medium.
❌ У нас за́втра экза́мен в фи́зике.
Wrong — the subject of an exam takes по + dative, not в: экза́мен по фи́зике.
✅ У нас за́втра экза́мен по фи́зике.
We have a physics exam tomorrow. — по + dative for the field.
❌ Мы бы́ли в конце́рте в суббо́ту.
Wrong — an event takes на, not в: на конце́рте. В would mean inside an object called 'concert'.
✅ Мы бы́ли на конце́рте в суббо́ту.
We were at a concert on Saturday. — на + event; в суббо́ту = single day.
❌ Посмотри́ в э́ту карти́ну!
Wrong — 'look at' aims with на + accusative: смотре́ть на карти́ну. Смотре́ть в is used for looking into something (в окно́, в зе́ркало).
✅ Посмотри́ на э́ту карти́ну!
Look at this painting! — смотре́ть на + accusative for the directed gaze.
Key Takeaways
- по (almost always + dative) = path / channel / criterion / field / routine: по у́лице, по телефо́ну, по пла́ну, уче́бник по фи́зике, по понеде́льникам.
- на = surface / event / activity / directed target: на столе́, на конце́рте, на рабо́те, смотре́ть на (+ acc.). Location → prepositional, motion or gaze → accusative.
- в = enclosed, bounded place: в Росси́и, в шко́ле, в кварти́ре. Location → prepositional, motion or a single day → accusative.
- Recurring day = по + dative plural (по понеде́льникам); a single day = в + accusative (в понеде́льник).
- Don't translate the English preposition — name the relationship and let it pick по, на, or в, then attach the case from the meaning.
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Start learning Russian→Related Topics
- The Many Uses of ПоB1 — По is one of the most polysemous prepositions in Russian, and it almost always takes the dative: motion along a surface (по у́лице), by means of (по телефо́ну), according to (по пла́ну), the subject of a study or exam (экза́мен по фи́зике), regular days and times (по понеде́льникам, по утра́м), distribution (по одному́), and 'by mistake' (по оши́бке). A rarer по + accusative means 'up to and including'.
- В vs На for PlacesB1 — A decision guide for the lexical в/на choice. Heuristics get you most of the way (enclosed/bounded places, countries, cities → в; surfaces, open areas, events, activities → на), but a fixed на-list must simply be memorized: рабо́та, по́чта, вокза́л, ста́нция, заво́д, фа́брика, ры́нок, ку́хня, у́лица, пло́щадь, ле́кция, собра́ние, стадио́н, конце́рт, юг/се́вер. Includes a high-frequency lookup table, the near-pairs (в кла́ссе/на уро́ке, в по́езде/на по́езде), and the rule that 'from' must MATCH the preposition: в→из, на→с.
- Choosing В vs На (the Lexical Problem)B1 — For location and destination, the CASE after в/на is predictable (prepositional for where, accusative for where-to). The hard part is lexical: which of the two prepositions a given noun takes is fixed per word and must be memorized. Tendencies help (в for enclosed spaces, buildings, countries, cities; на for surfaces, open areas, events, activities, islands, compass points), but there is no reliable rule — learn the high-frequency на-words as collocations.
- To, At, From a Place: в/на + из/с MatchingA2 — The matched destination–location–source system for places. Each noun is lexically a в-place or a на-place; once that is fixed, the relation chooses the case: 'to' = accusative (в шко́лу / на рабо́ту), 'at/in' = prepositional (в шко́ле / на рабо́те), 'from' = genitive that MUST match the preposition — в pairs with из (из шко́лы), на pairs with с (с рабо́ты). Two decisions per phrase: (1) в or на (memorized per noun), (2) the relation. High-frequency lookup table for шко́ла, рабо́та, дом, магази́н, по́чта, вокза́л, Москва́, and the killer error *из рабо́ты (correct: с рабо́ты).