Breakdown of Возле парка я встречаю девушку‑волонтёра, которая выгуливает собак из приюта.
я
I
собака
the dog
парк
the park
встречать
to meet
Questions & Answers about Возле парка я встречаю девушку‑волонтёра, которая выгуливает собак из приюта.
Why is it возле парка and not возле парк? What case does возле require?
Возле always takes the genitive case.
- Nominative: парк
- Genitive singular: парка
Since возле means near / by, the noun after it must be in the genitive, so возле парка is correct, and возле парк is ungrammatical.
Other common prepositions that also require genitive:
- у парка – by / at the park
- около парка – near the park
What is the difference between возле, у, and около? Could I say у парка instead of возле парка?
All three can often be translated as near / by, but they have slightly different flavors:
- возле парка – neutral near the park, commonly used in speech.
- у парка – literally at/by the park, often feels a bit closer to the object (right by the border of the park, at the park).
- около парка – around / near the park, can sound a bit more bookish or formal, but is also common.
In this sentence, у парка and около парка would be grammatically fine; the nuance difference is small, and all three are possible in many contexts.