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When talking about directions, coming and going, and places where actions occur, we need to use adverbs of place. In this post, we discuss some of the most frequently used adverbs of place.
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What Are Adverbs of Place?
Adverbs of place tell us where something happens:
Здесь будет стоять стол. (Zdes’ budet stoyat’ stol.) – The table will be here.
They answer three questions: “Где?” (Gde? – Where?), “Куда?” (Kuda? – Where to?), and “Откуда?” (Otkuda? – From where?).
Ты где? (Ty gde?) – Where are you? Яздесь. (Ya zdes’.) – I am here.
Куда она идёт? (Kuda ona idyot?) – Where does she go to? Она идёт сюда. (Ona idyot siuda.) – She’s going here.
Откуда вас забрать? (Otkuda vas zabrat’?) – From where will I pick you up? Отсюда. (Otsiuda.) – From here.
The 10 Most Frequently Used Adverbs of Place
The following list contains the 10 most common adverbs of place in Russian:
Слева (sleva) – on the left
Справа (sprava) – on the right
Вверху (vverkhu) – above
Внизу (vnizu) – below
Впереди (vperedi) – in front
Сзади (szadi) – behind
Здесь (zdes’) – here
Там (tam) – there
Сюда (siuda) – here
Туда (tuda) – there
Now, let’s use them in sentences:
Магазин находится слева от почты. (Magazin nakhoditsya sleva ot pochty.) The shop is located to the left of the post office.
На полке справа ты найдешь нужную книгу. (Na polke sprava ty naidyosh’ nuzhnyiu knigu.) On the shelf on the right you’ll find the book you’re searching for.
Осторожно, впереди – яма! (Ostorozhno, vperedi – yama!) Be careful, there’s a pothole in front!
В багажнике сзади есть вода. (V bagazhnike szadi est’ voda.) There’s water in the back of the car.
Я подожду здесь. (Ya podozhdy zdes’.) I’ll wait here.
Я был там, но тебя уже не было. (Ya byl tam, no tebya uzhe ne bylo.) I was there, but you were already gone.
Иди сюда! (Idisiuda!) Come here!
Посмотри туда. (Posmotri tuda.) Look over there.
Other Russian Adverbs of Place
Apart from adverbs related to specific places, there are negative adverbs and adverbs of place that express an idea of location without specifying a particular place or direction. Let’s look at them.
Negative adverbs related to place
Negative adverbs related to place are “никуда” (nikuda), “некуда” (nekuda), “нигде” (nigde), and “негде” (negde). All of them can be translated into English as “nowhere” or “anywhere.”
“Никуда” (nikudA) means “nowhere” and is used to describe direction:
Я никуда не пойду! (Ya nikudA ne poidu.) I’m not going anywhere!
“Некуда” (nEkuda) is also used for direction, but it means “to have no place to go”:
Мне некуда пойти. (Mne nEkuda poiti.) I have nowhere to go.
“Нигде” (nigdE) is related to location and means “nowhere”:
Этот товар больше нигде не продают. (Etot tovar bol’she nigde ne prodaiut.) This product is sold nowhere else.
“Негде” (nEgde) means “no place” and is also used to describe a location:
Мне было негде ночевать. (Mne bylo nEgde nochevat’.) I had no place to spend the night.
Adverbs of place that do not specify an exact location
Adverbs with particles “-нибудь” and “-то” are used to express the idea of a location without specifying the exact location:
Поехали куда-нибудь! (Poekhali kuda-nibud’!) Let’s go somewhere!
Давай где-нибудь остановимся. (Davai gde-nibud’ ostanovimsya.) Let’s stop somewhere.
Он живет где-то в России. (On zhivyot gde-to v Rossii.) He lives somewhere in Russia.
Он куда-то собирался на выходных. (On kuda-to sobiralsya na vykhodnykh.) He was going somewhere for the weekend.
You can use these adverbs when you don’t know the exact location or when the exact location is unimportant.
Learn More about Adverbs in Russian
Dealing with all these adverbs may seem difficult for a beginner, but don’t worry. The more you learn the language, the easier it gets, so don’t give up. Our professional tutors have got you covered—we’ll answer all your questions on Russian grammar. Order an online lesson and learn Russian with us.