Where, Without a Preposition
Russian has a small set of adverbs that answer где? on their own — no preposition, no case ending to get right. They are the everyday way to say where something is when you are not naming the thing it is next to.
| adverb | meaning |
|---|---|
| наверху | upstairs, up there |
| внизу | downstairs, down there |
| вверху | at the top, above |
| снаружи | outside |
| впереди | ahead, in front |
| Our neighbours live upstairs. | Наши соседи живут наверху. |
Наверху or Вверху?
Both mean "above", and they overlap — but наверху is about a place a person can be (the upper floor, the top of the hill), while вверху points at the upper part of a thing: the top of a page, the top of a screen.
Мы живём *наверху. — We live upstairs. Число стоит вверху страницы.* — The date is at the top of the page.
| At the top of the page we see the date. | Вверху страницы мы видим число. |
Отсюда — From Here
Отсюда is the "from" partner of здесь, exactly as сюда is its "to" partner. It answers откуда?
Магазин далеко *отсюда.* — The shop is far from here.
| The shop is far from here. | Магазин далеко отсюда. |
Вон — Over There, With a Finger
Вон points. It is what you say while showing someone the thing: Вон наш дом. — There's our house. Said sharply and alone, Вон! means "Get out!" — the same word, a very different room.
| There's our house, on the right. | Вон наш дом, справа. |
