В приюте живут собаки и кошки.

the dog

Breakdown of В приюте живут собаки и кошки.

• кошка: the cat
• в: in
• и: and

Questions & Answers about В приюте живут собаки и кошки.

What exactly does приюте mean here? Is it only an “animal shelter”?

The base word приют means shelter, refuge, haven.

In modern everyday speech, on its own, приют often suggests an animal shelter (especially if the context is dogs and cats), but it can also mean:

• приют для животных – animal shelter
• приют для бездомных – shelter for the homeless
• historically/less commonly: a kind of orphanage or children’s home (детский приют)

So in this sentence, because we mention собаки и кошки, it’s naturally understood as an animal shelter.

What case is приюте, and why does it end in -е?

Приюте is in the prepositional case (предложный падеж).

Key points:

• The base form (nominative singular) is приют.
• Masculine nouns ending in a consonant usually form the prepositional singular with -е:
  
  • дом → в доме (in the house)
  • город → в городе (in the city)
  • приют → в приюте (in the shelter)

You use the prepositional case after в and на when you talk about location:

• в приюте – in the shelter
• на улице – on the street