The Irregular Locative Case (-у / -ю)
Most masculine nouns take the ending -е in the Prepositional case. However, a small group of masculine nouns takes a stressed -у (or -ю) when used with the prepositions в (in) or на (on) to describe a physical location.
You just have to memorize which nouns use this form. Common examples include:
- лес (forest) → в лесу
- пруд (pond) → в пруду
- берег (shore) → на берегу
- порт (port) → в порту
- сад (garden) → в саду
For the word лёд (ice), the ё drops out as a fleeting vowel, resulting in на льду (on the ice).
| There is an old pond in the dense forest. | В густом лесу есть старый пруд. |
| The water in the pond is cold, and there is snow on the shore. | Вода в пруду холодная, а на берегу лежит снег. |
| This is the fisherman who is sitting on the ice. | Это рыбак, который сидит на льду. |
| Due to the dense fog, the ships are standing in the port. | Из-за густого тумана корабли стоят в порту. |
Regular Endings for Other Spaces
This stressed -у ending is strictly for a specific set of masculine nouns. When describing other natural micro-locations, neuter and feminine nouns still use the standard Prepositional -е ending.
For example, neuter nouns like дупло (tree hollow) and дно (bottom) become в дупле and на дне. A feminine noun like клетка (cage) becomes в клетке.
| The bird is hiding in the hollow because it's raining in the forest. | Птица прячется в дупле, потому что в лесу идёт дождь. |
| A huge stone lies at the bottom of the pond. | На дне пруда лежит огромный камень. |
| A bird in a cage never builds a nest. | Птица в клетке никогда не строит гнездо. |
In the Shade (в тени)
The word тень (shade) is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign. Its standard Prepositional case ending is -и. When used to describe a location ("in the shade"), the stress shifts to the final syllable: в тени.
Notice how the following example combines this with the irregular masculine noun в саду.
| In the garden, we sat in the shade. | В саду мы сидели в тени. |
