Prepositions В and НА

Prepositions В and НА keep confusing people, who study the Russian language. If you are not sure when to use which one, this post is for you.

The difference and the meaning

The easiest way to decide which preposition to use is to think whether the object you're talking about is inside of something or on the top of it. If it is inside (inside a bag, a room, a city or a country and etc.) – use "В". If it's on top – use "НА". In any other type of context better use "НА", because it has a wider range of meanings.

Do not translate literally from English, because in English there are three prepositions (in, on and at) that in different combinations might be translated both as В and НА. For example, English "in the street" is "на улице" in Russian, "on a bus" – "в автобусе" and etc. So, English "in" is not always "В" in Russian, and "on" is not always "НА".

Save the chart, so as not to ever forget when to use the Russian language В and НА!

Leave your questions!