Which Case After Which Preposition | Ukrainian Grammar

In Ukrainian, every preposition governs a case. There is no such thing as a "free-floating" preposition followed by a dictionary form — без demands the genitive, з (meaning "with") demands the instrumental, про demands the accusative, and при demands the locative, always. This is the part of the case system English speakers most underestimate, because in English a preposition just sits in front of a word ("without money," "with a friend") and nothing changes. In Ukrainian, choosing the preposition means choosing the case in the same breath. This page is the master map: which case goes with which preposition. The individual preposition pages drill the details; this is the hub that ties them together.

The five governing cases at a glance

Six of the seven cases can be governed by a preposition (the nominative never is, and the vocative stands outside the clause). Here is the orientation table — the prepositions you meet most often, sorted by the case they require.

Case	Core prepositions	Sense
Genitive	без, для, від/од, до, з/із/зі, бі́ля, ко́ло, пі́сля, се́ред, про́ти, бли́зько	without, for, from, to/until, near, after, among, against
Dative	завдяки́, всу́переч, напере́кір	thanks to, despite, contrary to
Accusative	про, че́рез; в/у, на, за, під (for motion)	about, through/across; into/onto (куди?)
Instrumental	з ("with"), над, під, за, пе́ред, між	with, above, under, behind, in front of, between (static)
Locative	у/в, на, при, по, о/об	in, on/at, by, along/around, at (o'clock)

The crucial visual clue: в/у, на, за, під, над, пе́ред, між appear in more than one row. Those are the alternating prepositions — the heart of the system, handled at the end of this page and in full on the motion-vs-location page.

Genitive prepositions — the biggest group

The genitive governs more prepositions than any other case. These are the prepositions of absence, origin, destination-as-limit, proximity, and sequence. Learn this cluster as a block — it is the highest-yield list in the whole system.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
без	without	без цу́кру (without sugar)
для	for (the benefit of)	для те́бе (for you)
від / од	from (a person/source)	лист від ма́ми (a letter from mum)
до	to / up to / until	до Ки́єва (to Kyiv)
з / із / зі	from / out of	з робо́ти (from work)
бі́ля, ко́ло	near, beside	бі́ля две́рей (by the door)
пі́сля	after	пі́сля обі́ду (after lunch)
се́ред	among / in the middle of	се́ред но́чі (in the middle of the night)
про́ти	against / opposite	про́ти ві́тру (against the wind)

Я бу́ду без цу́кру, дя́кую — намага́юся ме́нше соло́дкого.

I'll have it without sugar, thanks — I'm trying to cut down on sweets.

Зустрі́немося бі́ля вхо́ду до метро́ о пів на сьо́му?

Shall we meet by the metro entrance at half past six?

Пі́сля робо́ти я зазвича́й іду́ пішки́ додо́му — це мій час.

After work I usually walk home — it's my time.

💡

The genitive-governing prepositions are worth memorising as a single chant: без, для, від, до, з, бі́ля, пі́сля, се́ред, про́ти. They cover most of the "spatial frame" of everyday speech — where things come from, where they're headed, what they're near, what comes after. The detail is on the genitive prepositions page.

Dative prepositions — a tiny set

The dative governs only a handful of prepositions, all expressing cause, benefit, or opposition-of-circumstance. There are so few that you can simply learn them outright: завдяки́ ("thanks to"), всу́переч ("despite, against"), напере́кір ("contrary to").

Завдяки́ тобі́ я наре́шті розібра́вся з ці́єю програ́мою.

Thanks to you, I finally figured out this program.

Всу́переч пого́ді ми все одно́ ви́рушили в го́ри.

Despite the weather, we set off into the mountains anyway.

Accusative prepositions — topic, crossing, and motion

The accusative is governed by про ("about" a topic — not the Russian о + locative) and че́рез ("through, across, because of"), plus the motion uses of the alternating prepositions (covered below). Note especially that Ukrainian says "about" with про + accusative, never with a locative.

Ці́лий ве́чір ми говори́ли про майбу́тнє і ні про що бі́льше.

All evening we talked about the future and nothing else.

Че́рез дощ ми запізни́лися, виба́чте.

We were late because of the rain, sorry.

Instrumental prepositions — accompaniment and static position

The instrumental is governed by з in its "with / accompanied by" sense (a different з from the genitive "from"!), and by the static-position prepositions над, під, за, пе́ред, між. These answer де? ("where?") with a sense of relative position.

Preposition	Meaning (static)	Example
з / зі	with (together with)	з дру́гом (with a friend)
над	above / over	над столо́м (above the table)
під	under	під столо́м (under the table)
за	behind / beyond	за буди́нком (behind the house)
пе́ред	in front of	пе́ред две́рима (in front of the door)
між	between	між на́ми (between us)

Я був з дру́гом у кіно́, тому́ й не відповіда́в на дзвінки́.

I was at the cinema with a friend, that's why I wasn't answering calls.

Твої́ та́почки під лі́жком, де ж їм ще бу́ти.

Your slippers are under the bed, where else would they be.

💡

The preposition з is a famous trap: with the genitive it means "from / out of" (з мі́ста, "from the city"), but with the instrumental it means "with" (з дру́гом, "with a friend"). The case tells the two apart. See the three meanings of з.

Locative prepositions — always the locative

The locative is special: it is the one case that only ever appears after a preposition. Five prepositions take it, and (with one set of exceptions below) they take it unconditionally: у/в, на, при, по, о/об.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
у / в	in (static)	у мі́сті (in the city)
на	on / at (static)	на столі́ (on the table)
при	by / at / in the presence of	при доро́зі (by the road) — при ме́ні (in my presence)
по	along / around	по мі́сту (around the city)
о / об	at (o'clock)	о тре́тій (at three)

Він живе́ в мі́сті, а батьки́ — в селі́, за со́рок кіломе́трів.

He lives in the city, and his parents in the village, forty kilometres away.

По́їзд прибува́є о деся́тій, тож ви́рушаймо за́раз.

The train arrives at ten, so let's set off now.

The alternating prepositions — the heart of it

Now the part that makes the table above feel alive. Several prepositions — в/у, на, за, під, над, пе́ред, між — govern more than one case, and the case they take encodes meaning, above all motion versus location:

в/у and на: accusative for motion куди? ("to where?"), locative for location де? ("where?").
за, під, над, пе́ред, між: accusative for motion куди?, instrumental for static position де?.

Preposition	Motion (куди?) → accusative	Location (де?) → loc/instr
в / на	іду́ в шко́лу, кладу́ на стіл	я в шко́лі, лежи́ть на столі́ (locative)
за	сів за стіл (sat down at the table)	сиди́ть за столо́м (instrumental)
під	закоти́вся під стіл	лежи́ть під столо́м (instrumental)

Я по́клав документ під кни́гу, а тепе́р він лежи́ть десь під кни́гами.

I put the document under the book, and now it's lying somewhere under the books.

Сіда́й за стіл — вече́ря вже на столі́.

Sit down at the table — dinner is already on the table.

So the same preposition can take you across three cases: під + accusative for "under (going under)," під + instrumental for "under (resting under)," and you must always read the case ending, not the preposition, to know which is meant. This is so central that it has its own motion-vs-location page.

Source-language comparison

For an English speaker, the mental shift is that a preposition is not a standalone word — it is a word plus a case requirement, learned together. "Without" is not just без; it is без + genitive. The most counter-intuitive cases are (1) that the same preposition takes different cases for different meanings (з = "from" + genitive vs "with" + instrumental; в = "to" + accusative vs "in" + locative), and (2) that "about" is про + accusative, never a locative.

For a learner from Russian, the architecture is parallel and most of it transfers — but watch three Ukrainian specifics: "about a topic" is firmly про + accusative (not Russian о + prepositional); "thanks to" is завдяки́ + dative; and the lexical в-vs-на choices and the locative endings themselves differ (у шко́лі, на робо́ті). The motion-vs-location case alternation is the same skeleton, so carry that reflex over.

Common Mistakes

❌ без гро́ші (nominative after без)

Incorrect — без governs the genitive: без гро́шей.

✅ без гро́шей

without money — без + genitive.

❌ говори́ти о пого́ді (Russian о + locative)

Incorrect — 'about' is про + accusative: говори́ти про пого́ду.

✅ говори́ти про пого́ду

to talk about the weather — про + accusative.

❌ з дру́га (genitive after з meaning 'with')

Incorrect — з 'with' takes the instrumental: з дру́гом. (з дру́га would mean 'from a friend'.)

✅ з дру́гом

with a friend — з + instrumental.

❌ завдяки́ тебе́ (genitive/accusative after завдяки́)

Incorrect — завдяки́ governs the dative: завдяки́ тобі́.

✅ завдяки́ тобі́

thanks to you — завдяки́ + dative.

❌ під столо́м (instrumental for motion 'put under the table')

Incorrect for motion — куди? takes the accusative: поклав під стіл. (під столо́м = 'under the table', static.)

✅ поклав під стіл

put it under the table — під + accusative for motion.

Key Takeaways

Every preposition governs a case — learn the preposition and its case as one unit.
Genitive: без, для, від, до, з ("from"), бі́ля, пі́сля, се́ред, про́ти — the biggest, highest-yield group.
Dative: завдяки́, всу́переч, напере́кір — a tiny set. Accusative: про ("about"), че́рез, + motion uses. Instrumental: з ("with"), над, під, за, пе́ред, між (static).
Locative appears only after a preposition: у/в, на, при, по, о/об.
The alternating prepositions в/у, на, за, під, над, пе́ред, між flip case to mark motion (accusative) vs location (locative/instrumental) — read the ending, not the preposition.

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