What are prepositions of time in Russian?

Prepositions of time in Russian are words that are used to indicate when something happened, happens, or will happen. They can be used to introduce a specific moment in time (“at 2 pm”), a duration of time (“for an hour”), a recurring time (“on Mondays”), etc.

Learning to use prepositions of time is an important step in learning how to talk about time in Russian. In this article we will learn about all Russian prepositions of time and see many examples of how to use them in sentences.

You'll most often use a preposition of time in phrases that answer questions like:

• когда?

  Transcription: kagda

  Translation: when?
• в котором часу?

  Transcription: v katoram chasoo

  Translation: at what time?
• в какой день?

  Transcription: v kakoy dyen

  Translation: on what day?
• в каком году, веке?

  Transcription: v kakom gadoo, vyeki

  Translation: what year, century?
• как долго?

  Transcription: kak dolga

  Translation: for how long?
• в которомза какое время?

  Transcription: za kakoye vryemya

  Translation: in/within what time?

Like other prepositions, prepositions of time come before a noun or noun phrase. The preposition will tell you how the “time” represented by the noun after the preposition relates to the timing of the rest of the events in a sentence.

Here are some examples of Russian prepositions of time:

There are many prepositions which help us to express time in Russian. The prepositions в(о) (transcribed v, meaning “in/on/at”), на (transcribed na, meaning “for”) are the most frequent among them. However, you still need other prepositions of time! Here is a quick list:

Let’s now look at how to use some of these important prepositions of time in Russian!

We use the preposition в(о) (transcribed v, meaning “in/on/at”) before an exact time. We use it to answer questions like:

• когда? (transcribed kagda, meaning “when”)

• во сколько? (transcribed va skolka, meaning “at what time?”)

• в котором часу? (transcribed v katoram chasoo, meaning “at what time?”)

• в какой день? (transcribed v kakoy dyen, meaning “on what day?”)

• в каком году / веке? (transcribed v kakom gadoo / vyeki, meaning “what year / century?”)

Usually, the preposition в(о) is followed by the accusative case, but as you can see below, there are a few exceptions.

• в(о) + time of day → accusative case

  accusative case

  • Наш самолёт приземлился в три часа.

    Transcription: nash samaLYOT priziMLEELsya f tree chaSA.

    Translation: Our plane landed at three o’clock.
  • В 6:30 (шесть тридцать) вечера я заеду за тобой.

    Transcription: f shest TREEtsat VYEchira ya zaYEdoo za taBOY.

    Translation: I'll pick you up at six thirty.

• в(о) + day / time of the week → accusative case

  accusative case

  • Она ходит в спортзал во вторник и среду.

    Transcription: aNA KHOdit f sportZAL va VTORnik i SRYEdoo.

    Translation: She goes to the gym on Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • В выходные мы любим гулять в парке.

    Transcription: v vykhadNYye my LYUbim gooLYAt v PARkye.

    Translation: On weekends we like to walk in the park.

• в(о) + months, years, centuries → prepositional case

  prepositional case

  • В следующем месяце они поедут в Европу.

    Transcription: f SLYEdooyushchim MYEsyatse aNEE paYEdoot v yivROpoo.

    Translation: Next month (lit. in next month) they will go to Europe.
  • Она поступила в университет в этом году.

    Transcription: aNA pastooPEEla v oonivyersiTYET v Etam gaDOO.

    Translation: She entered the university this year (lit. in this year).
  • Интернет появился в прошлом веке.

    Transcription: interNET payaVEELsya f PROSHlam VYEki.

    Translation: The internet appeared in the last century.

As you can see, there are some situations when, we use the preposition в(о) in Russian, but no preposition is needed in English. Look out for this when expressing times that use “next” “last” or “this” in English!

В(о) (transcribed v(o)) also comes at the start of several multi-word prepositions of time. You can use any of these before a noun in the genitive case.

The preposition по (transcribed pa, meaning “on”) introduces the day or and other time periods when an action usually happens. It shows the regularity of this action. In this sense of the word, по (transcribed pa) takes the dative plural.

When we use the preposition на (transcribed na) with time it mostly will be translated into English as the preposition “for,” or it will be omitted in translation.

We usually use preposition на (transcribed na, meaning “for”) to describe the length of time that the result of an action lasts, not to describe the length the event/action itself. This means you usually will use на (transcribed na) after perfective verbs, since we’re looking at the time the end result lasts.

It also means that you usually will not use на to express duration with verbs like:

• быть (transcribed byt, meaning “to be”)

• жить (transcribed zyt, meaning “to live”)

• работать (transcribed raBOtat, meaning “to work”)

• посещать (transcribed pasiSHCHAT, meaning “to visit”)

• reflexive verbs

If you want to focus on how long the action itself lasts, you do not need a preposition at all! For example:

The preposition на (transcribed na) also comes at the start of some multi-word expressions like на протяжении (transcribed na pratyaZHEnii), which can be used as prepositions of time before the genitive case:

Though в (transcribed v), по (transcribed pa), and на (transcribed na) are the most important prepositions of time in Russian, there are several others that you can use to introduce the time or duration of an action. Let’s go through them one-by-one!

There are many prepositions of time, each of which is used for a specific time situation and followed by a certain case. Refer to the chart below to check the meaning and the case required after it.

Now, you’re ready to try out the Russian prepositions of time exercises below! Test yourself to see if you’ve become a master!