за / пад / над / перад + Instrumental

Position with За, Пад, Над and Перад

Level 3Sounds Like za pad nad perad + tvorny

To say where something is, use за (behind), пад (under), над (above) or перад (in front of) with the instrumental: Кот спіць пад сталом.

How It Works

1. Location: the instrumental. Answering дзе? (where?), all four prepositions take the instrumental (see instrumental endings):

  • за домам (behind the house)
  • пад сталом (under the table)
  • над горадам (above the city)
  • перад школай (in front of the school)

2. Motion into position: за and пад take the accusative. Answering куды? (where to?), за and пад take the accusative, just like у and на with a destination:

  • Кот залез пад стол. (The cat crawled under the table.)
  • Сядай за стол. (Sit down at the table.)
  • Пакладзі ключы пад дыван. (Put the keys under the rug.)

Над and перад keep the instrumental even with motion: Самалёт праляцеў над горадам (The plane flew over the city).

3. Other common meanings. За сталом means at the table, and за мяжой means abroad. Перад also means before in time: перад абедам (before lunch).

4. Pronouns. Third-person pronouns have no н-: пад ім, перад ёй, над імі. First person: за мной (also за мною), над намі. See pronoun case forms.

Examples (6)

  1. Кот спіць пад сталом.

    The cat is sleeping under the table.

    Стол → сталом: location takes the instrumental.

  2. Над горадам ляцяць птушкі.

    Birds are flying over the city.

    Горад → горадам.

  3. Машына стаіць перад домам.

    The car is parked in front of the house.

  4. За домам ёсць сад.

    There is a garden behind the house.

  5. Бацькі сядзяць за сталом.

    My parents are sitting at the table.

    За сталом means at the table.

  6. Мыйце рукі перад абедам.

    Wash your hands before lunch.

    Перад can also mean before in time.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the accusative for a fixed location.

    Кот спіць пад стол.
    Кот спіць пад сталом.

    The cat is not moving, so the answer to дзе? takes the instrumental: пад сталом.

  • Using the accusative after над.

    Над горад ляцяць птушкі.
    Над горадам ляцяць птушкі.

    For a position above something, над takes the instrumental: над горадам.

  • Using the instrumental for motion into a place.

    Пакладзі ключы пад дываном.
    Пакладзі ключы пад дыван.

    Putting something somewhere answers куды?, so пад takes the accusative: пад дыван.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

за / пад / над / перад + InstrumentalLevel 3Position with За, Пад, Над and Перад

Learn This First

Position needs the instrumental and destination.

Words in This Pattern

западнадперад