Once you know the simple genitive prepositions (из, от, до, без, у, по́сле), Russian stacks a second layer on top: compound prepositions that are spelled with a hyphen (из-за, из-под) or made of two or three separate words (во вре́мя, в тече́ние, в результа́те). They look intimidating, but they all obey the same single rule — the entire unit governs the genitive, exactly as the simple genitive prepositions do. The only real subtlety is meaning, and one of these, из-за, comes pre-loaded with a sense of blame that its positive counterpart благодаря́ (thanks to) lacks. Master that contrast and a handful of phrases, and you cover a huge slice of intermediate Russian.
The whole unit takes the genitive
The most important thing to internalize: a compound preposition is one preposition, however many words it's written with. The noun at the end goes into the genitive, and nothing in the middle changes the rule. As a reminder, masculine/neuter genitive singular is -а / -я, feminine is -ы / -и (the full paradigm is on genitive forms).
| Compound preposition | Meaning | Governs | Example (genitive in bold gloss) |
|---|---|---|---|
| из-за | because of; from behind | genitive | из-за дождя́ (because of the rain) |
| из-под | from under | genitive | из-под стола́ (from under the table) |
| во вре́мя | during | genitive | во вре́мя уро́ка (during the lesson) |
| в тече́ние | during / throughout | genitive | в тече́ние го́да (throughout the year) |
| вме́сто | instead of | genitive | вме́сто меня́ (instead of me) |
| накану́не | on the eve of | genitive | накану́не пра́здника (on the eve of the holiday) |
| в результа́те | as a result of | genitive | в результа́те оши́бки (as a result of an error) |
| насчёт | about / regarding (informal) | genitive | насчёт рабо́ты (about the work) |
| по по́воду | about / concerning (neutral–formal) | genitive | по по́воду встре́чи (about the meeting) |
из-за — "because of" and "from behind"
из-за + genitive has two faces. The spatial one mirrors за + instrumental (location "behind"): if something is за столо́м (behind the table), it emerges из-за стола́ (from behind the table). The causal one means because of, and this is where nuance lives.
Из-за угла́ вы́скочила соба́ка.
A dog darted out from behind the corner. (у́гол → genitive угла́; spatial 'from behind')
Мы опозда́ли из-за дождя́.
We were late because of the rain. (дождь → genitive дождя́; causal 'because of')
из-за carries blame; благодаря́ carries credit
This is the high-value distinction. из-за is the because of you use when the cause leads to something bad or unwanted — a delay, a problem, a failure. For a cause leading to something good, Russian switches to a different preposition entirely: благодаря́ + dative (not genitive), literally "thanking." Choosing the wrong one sounds either ungrateful or sarcastic.
Из-за тебя́ мы всё пропусти́ли!
Because of you we missed everything! (ты → genitive тебя́; clearly an accusation)
Благодаря́ тебе́ мы всё успе́ли.
Thanks to you we got everything done in time. (благодаря́ + dative тебе́; gratitude — note the dative, not the genitive)
из-под — "from under"
из-под + genitive is the exit-version of под + instrumental (location "under"): something под столо́м (under the table) comes из-под стола́ (out from under the table). It also appears in a frozen, idiomatic meaning — "a container that formerly held X": буты́лка из-под молока́ = a (now empty) milk bottle.
Кот вы́лез из-под крова́ти весь в пыли́.
The cat crawled out from under the bed covered in dust. (крова́ть → genitive крова́ти)
Не выбра́сывай ба́нку из-под ко́фе — она́ ещё пригоди́тся.
Don't throw out the coffee jar — it'll still come in handy. (ко́фе is indeclinable; 'jar that held coffee')
во вре́мя / в тече́ние — two ways to say "during"
Both render English during + genitive, but they aren't interchangeable. во вре́мя points to a bounded event you're inside of (a lesson, a war, a meeting) — "in the course of that event." в тече́ние measures a stretch of time and stresses the whole span — "over the entire period," often with a duration noun (год, неде́ля, час).
Не разгова́ривайте во вре́мя экза́мена.
Don't talk during the exam. (экза́мен → genitive экза́мена; во вре́мя = inside a bounded event)
В тече́ние неде́ли я отвечу́ на ва́ше письмо́.
I'll answer your letter within / over the course of a week. (неде́ля → genitive неде́ли; в тече́ние = across a span)
вме́сто — "instead of"
вме́сто + genitive means in place of / instead of — one thing substituting for another.
Вме́сто меня́ на собра́ние пойдёт колле́га.
A colleague will go to the meeting instead of me. (я → genitive меня́)
Купи́ сок вме́сто газиро́вки.
Buy juice instead of fizzy drink. (газиро́вка → genitive газиро́вки)
насчёт vs по по́воду — two ways to say "about"
When about means on the topic of / regarding, Russian offers two genitive options. насчёт + genitive is conversational and a touch casual ("about the…, regarding the…"). по по́воду + genitive is more neutral-to-formal and very common in offices, emails and official talk. (Note: for about in the sense of "talk about a subject" with verbs like говори́ть and ду́мать, the everyday word is о + prepositional — these two are specifically "regarding / on the matter of.")
Я хоте́л поговори́ть насчёт о́тпуска.
I wanted to talk about (regarding) my holiday. (о́тпуск → genitive о́тпуска; conversational)
Он позвони́л по по́воду догово́ра.
He called regarding the contract. (догово́р → genitive догово́ра; neutral–formal)
A paragraph using several
Watch the genitive ride through five compound prepositions in a row:
Из-за пробо́к мы прие́хали накану́не конце́рта, а не во вре́мя него́; в тече́ние ве́чера я успе́л поговори́ть с организа́тором по по́воду биле́тов вме́сто того́, что́бы стоя́ть в о́череди.
Because of the traffic we arrived on the eve of the concert rather than during it; over the course of the evening I managed to speak with the organizer about the tickets instead of standing in line. (из-за пробо́к, накану́не конце́рта, во вре́мя, в тече́ние ве́чера, по по́воду биле́тов, вме́сто — all genitive)
The companion list of single-word genitive prepositions is at genitive prepositions, and the case-drilling page is genitive after prepositions.
Common Mistakes
❌ Благодаря́ дождя́ мы опозда́ли.
Two errors — a bad outcome (being late) needs из-за, not благодаря́; and благодаря́ takes the dative, not the genitive. Use из-за + genitive.
✅ Из-за дождя́ мы опозда́ли.
We were late because of the rain. (из-за + genitive дождя́, for a negative cause)
❌ Вме́сто меня́ пойдёт на встре́чу.
Fine on case, but watch the trap learners fall into elsewhere: the danger is treating вме́сто as governing the dative ('вме́сто мне'). It governs the genitive: вме́сто меня́.
✅ Вме́сто меня́ на встре́чу пойдёт друг.
A friend will go to the meeting instead of me. (вме́сто + genitive меня́)
❌ Во вре́мя уро́к не разгова́ривайте.
Incorrect — the whole unit во вре́мя governs the genitive: уро́к → уро́ка. A bare nominative after a compound preposition is wrong.
✅ Во вре́мя уро́ка не разгова́ривайте.
Don't talk during the lesson. (во вре́мя + genitive уро́ка)
❌ Из под стола́ вы́лез кот.
Spelling error — из-под is one hyphenated preposition, not two separate words. Write it with a hyphen.
✅ Из-под стола́ вы́лез кот.
The cat crawled out from under the table. (из-под + genitive стола́)
❌ В тече́нии го́да.
Spelling error — the prepositional phrase is fixed as в тече́ние (with -е), even though тече́ние is a neuter -ие noun whose prepositional would be тече́нии. As a preposition meaning 'during,' it's always в тече́ние.
✅ В тече́ние го́да.
Throughout the year. (в тече́ние + genitive го́да)
Key Takeaways
- A compound preposition is one preposition however it's spelled; the whole unit governs the genitive of the final noun.
- из-за = because of / from behind and signals a bad cause (blame); its positive counterpart is благодаря́ + dative (credit, "thanks to") — note the case difference.
- из-под = from under (the exit-form of под + instrumental); also "a container that held X" (ба́нка из-под ко́фе).
- During splits two ways: во вре́мя (inside a bounded event) vs в тече́ние (across a whole span); both + genitive. Watch the fixed spelling в тече́ние (-е, not -ии).
- About / regarding as a compound preposition: насчёт (informal) and по по́воду (neutral–formal), both + genitive — distinct from о
- prepositional for "talk about."
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- Genitive Prepositions: из, от, до, у, без, для, околоA1 — The big family of prepositions that all govern the genitive: из (out of a place), от (from a person or point), до (up to / until), у (at / by / 'have'), без (without), для (for the benefit of), о́коло (near / about), plus из-за, из-под, по́сле, про́тив, кро́ме, среди́, вокру́г. The headline pattern is the three-way split of English 'from' — из (out of), с (off / from an event), от (from a person) — each tied to its 'to' partner: в↔из, на↔с, к↔от.
- Genitive After Prepositions (без, для, до, из, от, у, около, после)A2 — Most of the genitive you'll ever use is triggered by prepositions: без са́хара (without sugar), для тебя́ (for you), до конца́ (until the end), из го́рода (from the city), от врача́ (from the doctor), у окна́ (by the window), о́коло до́ма (near the house), по́сле уро́ка (after the lesson), plus про́тив, вокру́г, кро́ме, среди́, ра́ди, ми́мо. Practising the genitive THROUGH its prepositions builds the form and the construction at once — and the из↔в, от↔к, с↔на 'from/to' symmetry ties them together.
- 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.
- The Many Uses of С/СоB1 — The preposition с is a two-case workhorse, and the case alone decides the meaning. With the GENITIVE it means 'from / off' a surface and 'since' a point in time (с рабо́ты, с по́лки, с понеде́льника). With the INSTRUMENTAL it means 'with / together with' and 'having' (с дру́гом, ко́фе с молоко́м, челове́к с ю́мором). Flip the case, flip the meaning. The form со appears before awkward consonant clusters (со мной, со стола́), and с + genitive is the mirror of на + accusative in the из/с 'from' system.
- Genitive: FormsA2 — The genitive (роди́тельный паде́ж) is one of the most-used and most-varied cases. The singular is tidy: masc/neuter -а/-я (стола́, окна́, музе́я), feminine -ы/-и (кни́ги, неде́ли, но́чи). The plural is the single hardest ending set in Russian — a three-way split between zero ending (often with a fleeting vowel: книг, о́кон, де́вушек), -ов/-ев (столо́в, музе́ев, отцо́в), and -ей (ноже́й, словаре́й, ноче́й). Learn the decision procedure, not a word list.