Breakdown of Где банк? Он в центре.
где
where / wherever
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
в
in / to (direction)
центр
center
Questions & Answers about Где банк? Он в центре.
Why is there no word for "is" in "Где банк?"
In Russian, the verb "to be" is almost always skipped in the present tense. Literally, you are just saying "Where bank?" and "He in center."
Why does the answer use он (he) to refer to a bank?
In Russian, all nouns have a gender. Because the word банк ends in a consonant, it is a masculine word. When referring back to a masculine object, you use the masculine pronoun он, even though in English we would say "it".
Why does центр change to центре in this sentence?
This is the Prepositional case in action! Because you are answering the question "where?" (location), the noun changes. For most masculine nouns, you add an -е to the end, so центр becomes в центре (in the center).
Could I use на центре instead of в центре?
No, you need to use в here. В generally means "in" or "inside," while на means "on" or "on top of." A city center is treated as an area you are inside, so you use в.