Most Russian prepositions of place demand the genitive, prepositional, or instrumental. A smaller club governs the accusative, and they cluster around two ideas: crossing/penetrating something (че́рез, сквозь), and directed motion to a position (за, под — when you move an object to behind or to under). Add the colloquial про ("about") and о in its "against" sense, and you have the whole accusative-preposition family. The single fact most worth carrying away: че́рез — not в — is how Russian says "in an hour, in a week."
The accusative prepositions at a glance
| Preposition | Core meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| че́рез | across / through / in (after an interval) | че́рез доро́гу, че́рез час |
| про | about (colloquial, = о + prep.) | кни́га про войну́ |
| сквозь | through (penetrating a mass) | сквозь толпу́ |
| о / об | against (impact) | уда́риться о ка́мень |
| за + acc. | (to) behind; for / in exchange | сесть за стол; за биле́т |
| под + acc. | (to) under | поста́вить под стол |
Че́рез — across, through, and "in [an interval]"
Че́рез governs the accusative and covers three connected senses. First, across/over an obstacle or a gap — crossing a road, a river, a bridge:
Дава́й перейдём че́рез доро́гу здесь.
Let's cross the road here. — че́рез + accusative доро́гу: motion across a barrier.
Он залез в дом че́рез окно́.
He got into the house through the window. — че́рез окно́: passing through an opening.
Second — and this is the one English speakers miss — че́рез + accusative is the normal way to say "in" a future interval: in an hour, in three days, in a week. The logic is spatial: you reach the event after crossing a stretch of time.
Я перезвоню́ тебе́ че́рез час.
I'll call you back in an hour. — че́рез час, NOT в час (which means 'at one o'clock').
По́езд отправля́ется че́рез де́сять мину́т.
The train leaves in ten minutes. — че́рез + accusative for the future interval.
Third, че́рез marks every other / at intervals: че́рез день ("every other day"), писа́ть че́рез строку́ ("write on every other line").
Про — "about" (colloquial)
Про takes the accusative and means about / concerning — the topic of a book, film, story, or conversation. It is the colloquial twin of о/об + prepositional (covered on about with о/об). The meaning is identical; про is just chattier and more spoken.
Э́то кни́га про войну́.
This is a book about the war. — про + accusative войну́; the bookish equivalent is кни́га о войне́.
Расскажи́ мне про свою́ пое́здку!
Tell me about your trip! — про + accusative; very natural in speech, where о пое́здке would sound a touch more formal.
Сквозь — "through" a mass
Сквозь governs the accusative and means through in the sense of penetrating a substance or a packed mass — a crowd, fog, gritted teeth. Where че́рез can cross a gap, сквозь forces through something dense.
Он с трудо́м проби́рался сквозь толпу́.
He pushed his way through the crowd with difficulty. — сквозь + accusative толпу́: forcing through a mass.
Сквозь тума́н ничего́ не́ было ви́дно.
Nothing could be seen through the fog. — сквозь тума́н; че́рез would sound wrong here.
О / об — "against" (impact)
Besides its main "about" job, о (and об before a vowel) takes the accusative to mean against, marking the thing something strikes or leans on. This is a small but vivid use.
Он бо́льно уда́рился голово́й о ка́мень.
He hit his head painfully against a rock. — уда́риться о + accusative ка́мень: the surface of impact.
Во́лны би́лись о бе́рег всю ночь.
The waves beat against the shore all night. — би́ться о + accusative бе́рег.
За and под with motion — accusative
This is the headline feature these prepositions share with в and на: they are two-case prepositions. With directed motion — moving something to a new position — they take the accusative; with static location they take the instrumental (see instrumental prepositions).
- за + accusative = motion to behind / to the far side of: сесть за стол (sit down at the table), уе́хать за го́род (go out of town).
- под + accusative = motion to under: поста́вить чемода́н под крова́ть (put the suitcase under the bed).
Сади́сь за стол, обе́д гото́в!
Sit down at the table, lunch is ready! — сесть за + accusative стол: motion to take your place behind/at the table.
На выходны́е мы е́дем за́ город.
We're going out of town for the weekend. — за́ город (note the stress shift to за) = motion 'to beyond the city' = the countryside.
Поста́вь, пожа́луйста, су́мку под стол.
Please put the bag under the table. — под + accusative стол: motion to a position underneath.
To say where the object then rests, you switch to the instrumental: су́мка лежи́т под столо́м ("the bag is lying under the table"), мы живём за́ городом ("we live out of town"). The accusative answers куда́? ("to where?"); the instrumental answers где? ("where?").
За + accusative also means "for / in exchange"
Beyond motion, за + accusative carries a cluster of "for / in exchange" senses: paying for, thanking for, voting for, doing in return. These are fully covered on the many uses of за, but note the contrast now: за + accusative = "for / in exchange" (заплати́ть за биле́т), while за + instrumental = "behind / to fetch" (за хле́бом). Same preposition, opposite case, different job.
Спаси́бо большо́е за по́мощь!
Thank you very much for your help! — спаси́бо за + accusative по́мощь: 'for' in the gratitude sense.
Я заплати́л за биле́т три ты́сячи.
I paid three thousand for the ticket. — заплати́ть за + accusative биле́т: payment in exchange.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я позвоню́ тебе́ в час.
Wrong if you mean 'in an hour' — в час means 'at one o'clock'. A future interval needs че́рез час.
✅ Я позвоню́ тебе́ че́рез час.
I'll call you in an hour. — че́рез + accusative for the interval.
❌ Кни́га про войне́.
Wrong — про governs the accusative, not the prepositional: про войну́. (О войне́ would use the prepositional with о.)
✅ Кни́га про войну́.
A book about the war. — про + accusative.
❌ Сядь за столо́м, обе́д гото́в.
Wrong for sitting DOWN — that is motion, so accusative: сядь за стол. За столо́м (instrumental) means already sitting AT the table.
✅ Сядь за стол, обе́д гото́в.
Sit down at the table. — за + accusative for motion to position.
❌ Я заплати́л за биле́том.
Wrong — 'pay for' is за + accusative (за биле́т). За биле́том (instrumental) would mean 'to fetch the ticket'.
✅ Я заплати́л за биле́т.
I paid for the ticket. — за + accusative = in exchange.
❌ Он прошёл че́рез толпу́, расто́лкав всех.
Acceptable but сквозь is more precise for forcing through a dense mass: сквозь толпу́. Че́рез suits gaps and barriers.
✅ Он проби́лся сквозь толпу́.
He pushed through the crowd. — сквозь + accusative for penetrating a mass.
Key Takeaways
- Че́рез + accusative = across/through (че́рез доро́гу, че́рез окно́) and "in [a future interval]" (че́рез час) — never use в for an interval.
- Про + accusative = "about" (про войну́), the colloquial twin of о/об + prepositional (о войне́).
- Сквозь + accusative = through a dense mass (сквозь толпу́); о/об + accusative = "against" on impact (уда́риться о ка́мень).
- За and под are two-case: motion to a position takes the accusative (сесть за стол, под стол); static location takes the instrumental (за столо́м, под столо́м).
- За + accusative also means "for / in exchange" (за биле́т, спаси́бо за по́мощь) — distinct from за + instrumental ("behind / to fetch").
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- Instrumental Prepositions: с, над, под, перед, междуA2 — Five prepositions take the instrumental: с/со ('with'), над ('above'), под ('under' — location), пе́ред ('in front of, before'), and ме́жду ('between'). За + instrumental ('behind, at') and ря́дом с ('next to') belong here too. The key contrast: за and под mean LOCATION with the instrumental but MOTION with the accusative.
- The Many Uses of ЗаB1 — За is a two-case preposition. With the ACCUSATIVE it means motion to behind (сесть за стол), 'for / in exchange' (заплати́ть за биле́т, спаси́бо за по́мощь), and 'within a period' (за час). With the INSTRUMENTAL it means static location behind/at (за до́мом, за столо́м), 'after / following', 'to fetch' (зайти́ за хле́бом), and 'in charge of / looking after' (следи́ть за детьми́). Watch the trap: 'pay for' is accusative, 'go fetch' is instrumental.
- В and На: In/On vs Into/OntoA1 — The two workhorse prepositions в (in/into) and на (on/onto) each take TWO cases: the accusative for motion toward a place (Я иду́ в шко́лу, на рабо́ту) and the prepositional for static location (Я в шко́ле, на рабо́те). The case carries the direction-vs-location meaning. Choosing в vs на itself is lexical — в for enclosed spaces, на for surfaces, events, and a fixed memorized list. Plus the matching 'from' words: в↔из, на↔с.
- Accusative After Prepositions (в, на, за, под, через, про)A2 — The accusative is the case of DESTINATION and DURATION after prepositions: в/на/за/под switch to the accusative the moment there is motion toward a place (иду́ в шко́лу, кладу́ под стол), paired against their prepositional/instrumental location forms (я в шко́ле); plus through/across/in-a-time че́рез + acc (че́рез мост, че́рез час), the barrier-piercing сквозь, the colloquial 'about' про, and о/об in the sense of 'against' (уда́риться о ка́мень).
- Prepositions and Case: How They Work TogetherA1 — The single biggest idea about Russian prepositions: every preposition GOVERNS a case — it is never used alone, and you cannot choose a preposition without also choosing the case it demands. A map of the system by case (genitive: из, от, до, у, для, без, о́коло; dative: к, по; accusative: в, на, за, под, че́рез; instrumental: с, над, под, пе́ред, ме́жду; prepositional: о, при, в/на for location), plus the two-case prepositions where the case itself carries the meaning.