Lesson 56. Prepositions u and na (where to?)
The accusative is not just “whom/what I see”. With some prepositions, it answers “where to?“
u + accusative = “in/into”
Idem u školu. (Идем у школу.)
— I go to school.
Idemo u grad. (Идемо у град.)
— We go to the city.
Putujem u Srbiju. (Путујем у Србију.)
— I travel to Serbia.
na + accusative = “on/onto”
Idem na posao. (Идем на посао.)
— I go to work.
Idemo na more. (Идемо на море.)
— We go to the sea.
Stavljam knjigu na sto. (Стављам књигу на сто.)
— I put the book on the table.
u and na: when to use which
- u — into: buildings, countries, rooms (
u školu, u kuhinju, u Rusiju). - na — on/onto: surface, event, work (
na sto, na more, na posao, na koncert).
A pattern close to English: “to school”, “to work”.
More prepositions with accusative
kroz(through):Idem kroz park.za(for, behind):Pitam za tebe.pod(under — movement):Stavljam loptu pod sto.nad(over — movement):Podižem ruku nad glavu.
For now, it’s enough to recognize them.
Exercises
Exercise 1
"I go to school":
Show explanation
“Where to?” — accusative. školu.
Exercise 2
"We go to the sea":
Show explanation
na more — set phrase.
Exercise 3
Translate: “I go to the city, Mom goes to work”.
Show answer
Idem u grad, mama ide na posao.
Lesson vocabulary
- kroz кроз
- through
- za за
- for, behind
- posao посао
- work
- park парк
- park
- lopta лопта
- ball
- putovati путовати
- to travel
- stavljati стављати
- to put, to place