A neat family of prepositions governs the instrumental case, and most of them are spatial — they tell you where something is, statically, in relation to something else: above it, under it, in front of it, between two things, or behind it. The odd one out is с/со ("with"), which expresses accompaniment. The pattern worth internalizing first: за and под take the instrumental for location (где? — where something rests) but the accusative for motion (куда? — where something goes). Same prepositions, two cases, two questions.
The instrumental prepositions at a glance
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| с / со | with (accompaniment) | с дру́гом, ко́фе с молоко́м |
| над / на́до | above, over | над столо́м |
| под | under (location) | под столо́м |
| пе́ред / пе́редо | in front of; before | пе́ред до́мом, пе́ред обе́дом |
| ме́жду | between | ме́жду на́ми, ме́жду дома́ми |
| за | behind; at (location) | за до́мом, за столо́м |
| ря́дом с | next to, beside | ря́дом с ба́нком |
С / со — "with"
С (and the longer со before clusters and before мной) means with / together with — accompaniment, ingredients, and reciprocal relations. It is the workhorse of the group and has its own full treatment on instrumental with с; here, just note that it belongs to the instrumental family.
Я бы́л в кино́ с друзья́ми вчера́.
I was at the cinema with friends yesterday. — с + instrumental друзья́ми: accompaniment.
Мне, пожа́луйста, ко́фе с молоко́м.
A coffee with milk for me, please. — с + instrumental молоко́м: the ingredient sense.
Над — "above, over"
Над (longer на́до before clusters: на́до мной) governs the instrumental and means above / over, with the things not touching. It also gives the idiomatic рабо́тать над ("to work on a project") — you hover over the task.
Над столо́м виси́т ста́рая ла́мпа.
An old lamp hangs above the table. — над + instrumental столо́м: position above, no contact.
Она́ весь ме́сяц рабо́тает над но́вой кни́гой.
She's been working on a new book all month. — рабо́тать над + instrumental кни́гой: 'work ON'.
Под — "under" (location)
Под + instrumental means under / underneath as a static location — where something rests. (For motion to under a thing, под switches to the accusative: see below and accusative prepositions.)
Ко́шка спит под крова́тью.
The cat is sleeping under the bed. — под + instrumental крова́тью: location, answering где?
Под Москво́й мно́го да́ч.
There are lots of dachas near Moscow. — под + instrumental in its extended 'in the vicinity of' sense (под + city = the outskirts/region).
Пе́ред — "in front of; before"
Пе́ред (longer пе́редо before мной) takes the instrumental for both space — in front of — and time — just before. The temporal "before" is immediately prior, not the general "before" of до.
Встре́тимся пе́ред теа́тром в семь.
Let's meet in front of the theatre at seven. — пе́ред + instrumental теа́тром: spatial, 'in front of'.
Помо́й ру́ки пе́ред обе́дом.
Wash your hands before lunch. — пе́ред + instrumental обе́дом: 'just before', immediately preceding.
Пе́редо мной стоя́л огро́мный пёс.
A huge dog stood in front of me. — пе́редо мной: the longer form before the pronoun.
Ме́жду — "between"
Ме́жду + instrumental means between. With two named items it links them with и: ме́жду до́мом и шко́лой. The idiom ме́жду на́ми means "between us / between you and me."
Апте́ка ме́жду ба́нком и кафе́.
The pharmacy is between the bank and the café. — ме́жду + instrumental, two items joined by и.
Ме́жду на́ми говоря́, я ему́ не ве́рю.
Between you and me, I don't believe him. — ме́жду на́ми: the confidential idiom.
За — "behind; at" (location)
За + instrumental marks static location behind or at something. Crucially, за столо́м means at the table (seated, working, eating) — the position behind/at it. This is the location twin of the motion за + accusative (сесть за стол). За has many further uses, gathered on the many uses of за.
Маши́на стои́т за до́мом.
The car is parked behind the house. — за + instrumental до́мом: location behind.
Вся семья́ сиди́т за столо́м.
The whole family is sitting at the table. — за столо́м (instrumental) = located at the table, vs. сесть за стол (accusative) = sit down at it.
Ря́дом с — "next to"
The compound ря́дом с + instrumental means next to / beside. The с triggers the instrumental, as always.
Я живу́ ря́дом с большо́й апте́кой.
I live next to a big pharmacy. — ря́дом с + instrumental апте́кой.
The case alternation: location vs. motion
Here is the distinguishing insight for this page. За and под are two-case prepositions, and the case you choose answers a different question:
| Question | Case | За | Под |
|---|---|---|---|
| где? (where — location) | instrumental | за столо́м (at the table) | под столо́м (under the table) |
| куда? (where to — motion) | accusative | сесть за стол | поста́вить под стол |
This mirrors the famous в/на split: location takes the prepositional, motion takes the accusative. With за and под it is instrumental (location) versus accusative (motion). Над, пе́ред, ме́жду and с are simpler — they are only instrumental, because they describe relations that have no built-in "motion-to" counterpart in the same way.
Соба́ка лежа́ла под столо́м, пото́м зале́зла под крова́ть.
The dog was lying under the table, then crawled under the bed. — first под столо́м (instrumental, location), then под крова́ть (accusative, motion).
Common Mistakes
❌ Ла́мпа виси́т над стол.
Wrong — над is location only and always takes the instrumental: над столо́м, never the accusative над стол.
✅ Ла́мпа виси́т над столо́м.
The lamp hangs above the table. — над + instrumental.
❌ Она́ рабо́тает на прое́ктом.
Wrong — 'work on' is рабо́тать над + instrumental, not на.
✅ Она́ рабо́тает над прое́ктом.
She's working on the project. — рабо́тать над + instrumental.
❌ Вся семья́ сиди́т за стол.
Wrong for being seated — that's location, so instrumental: за столо́м. За стол (accusative) would be the motion 'sitting down'.
✅ Вся семья́ сиди́т за столо́м.
The whole family is sitting at the table. — за + instrumental for location.
❌ Магази́н ме́жду ба́нка и кафе́.
Wrong — ме́жду takes the instrumental, not the genitive: ме́жду ба́нком и кафе́.
✅ Магази́н ме́жду ба́нком и кафе́.
The shop is between the bank and the café. — ме́жду + instrumental.
❌ Помо́й ру́ки до обе́да.
Means 'before lunch' in a general sense; for 'just before' (immediately prior) Russian prefers пе́ред обе́дом.
✅ Помо́й ру́ки пе́ред обе́дом.
Wash your hands before lunch. — пе́ред + instrumental for immediately preceding.
Key Takeaways
- The instrumental prepositions: с/со (with), над (above), под (under, location), пе́ред (in front of / before), ме́жду (between), за (behind / at, location), ря́дом с (next to).
- За and под are two-case: instrumental = location (за столо́м, под столо́м), accusative = motion (за стол, под стол).
- За столо́м = "at the table" (seated); сесть за стол = "sit down at the table" (motion).
- Рабо́тать над + instrumental = "work on" — над, not на.
- Над, пе́ред, ме́жду and с are instrumental-only; use the longer на́до / пе́редо / со before clusters and before мной.
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- Accusative Prepositions: через, про, за, под (motion)A2 — A small set of prepositions governs the accusative: че́рез ('across, through, in [an interval]'), про ('about', colloquial), сквозь ('through'), о ('against'), plus the motion senses of за ('to behind') and под ('to under'). Че́рез — not в — is how Russian says 'in an hour'.
- Instrumental with С (Together With)A2 — The preposition с/со + instrumental means 'together with, accompanied by, having' — ко́фе с молоко́м, иду́ с дру́гом, мы с бра́том ('my brother and I'). It is ONLY for accompaniment and ingredients, never for tools (those take the bare instrumental). Watch the trap: the same с + genitive means 'from/off' (с рабо́ты).
- Instrumental After Spatial PrepositionsB1 — The instrumental after location prepositions: над (above), под (under), пе́ред (in front of), за (behind), ме́жду (between), ря́дом с (next to) — над столо́м, под крова́тью, за угло́м. Crucially, за and под switch to the accusative for motion-to: стои́т под столо́м (instr, location) vs поста́вить под стол (acc, destination).
- 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.
- 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.