The locative case

After this page you will be able to form the locative of most nouns in the singular and plural, and say where someone or something is: у Ки́єві, на столі́, у па́рку. You will know when a masculine noun ends in -і, -у or -ові, how г, к and х change before -і, and which prepositions take the locative.

This page builds on The dative case: for many nouns, the two cases share their endings.

What the locative does

The locative is the only case that never appears without a preposition. That is why it is also called the prepositional case. Its main job is to say where something is, after в (у) or на. It answers the question де? (where?).

Singular endings

The forms below come from the paradigms in the Горох dictionary [src: goroh-dictionary], and the rules follow the official orthography [src: pravopys-2026, §73, §86, §95].

Feminine nouns: -і

Feminine nouns take -і, spelled -ї after a vowel or an apostrophe [src: pravopys-2026, §73]. This is the same form as the dative. Feminine nouns that end in a consonant, like ніч, also take -і [src: pravopys-2026, §95].

Consonant changes: на нозі, у руці

Before -і, the consonants г, к and х change to з, ц and с. The orthography gives нога́ → нозі́, рука́ → руці́, му́ха → му́сі as examples [src: pravopys-2026, §73, note]. The same change happens in masculine and neuter nouns that take -і.

The dictionary also gives у ву́ху for “in the ear” [src: goroh-dictionary]. The change happens only before -і. When a noun takes -у, the consonant stays: у па́рку.

Masculine and neuter nouns: -і, -у or -ові

This is the tricky part. Masculine and neuter nouns can take three different endings. The orthography describes which nouns usually take which [src: pravopys-2026, §86]. Treat these as tendencies and check new words in a dictionary.

-і (-ї) is usual for most nouns that name things, especially short ones without a suffix, and for most neuter nouns:

-у (-ю) is usual for nouns with the suffix -к or -ок, such as буди́нок (building) and лі́жко (bed), and for some one-syllable nouns whose stress moves to the ending, such as сніг (snow) [src: pravopys-2026, §86]. Many other nouns ending in -к, -г or -х also take it. For парк, for example, the dictionary gives па́рку (and па́ркові) as the locative, and no form in -і [src: goroh-dictionary].

-ові (-еві, -єві) is usual for masculine nouns that name people and animals [src: pravopys-2026, §86]. You will meet it less often in practice, because people are seldom the place where something is. With nouns for people, the dictionary often gives several correct forms.

Plural endings

The plural is regular. All nouns take -ах, or -ях after a soft consonant or a vowel [src: pravopys-2026, §80, §93, §96].

Карпа́ти (the Carpathians) exists only in the plural, like the Alps in English.

Pronouns in the locative

These forms come from the orthography’s table [src: pravopys-2026, §108]. Because the locative always follows a preposition, the forms of він, вона́ and вони́ begin with н-.

A natural use is for clothes. Ukrainian says that a dress is “on” someone, where English says that someone is wearing it. The NaUKMA course uses this pattern to introduce the locative [src: ukma-ukrainian-foreign-language, Lesson 5].

Prepositions with the locative

Five prepositions take the locative. Each is listed with the locative in the dictionary [src: goroh-dictionary].

В and на: place

With the locative, в (у) and на describe where something is. Which noun takes which preposition has to be learned word by word: у шко́лі, but на робо́ті. Common prepositions has a list, and the rules for choosing у or в [src: pravopys-2026, §23].

По: around, across, along

По with the locative describes movement over a surface or along something, or being spread around a place [src: goroh-dictionary].

With по, some nouns have two correct singular forms: по мі́сті and по мі́сту, по селі́ and по селу́ [src: pravopys-2026, §86, note 1]. In the plural, though, the ending must be the locative -ах or -ях: по кімна́тах, not the dative по кімна́там. Usage guides call the dative after по a mistake under Russian influence [src: goroh-usage].

По can also take the accusative, with other meanings. One you will hear is “to fetch”: піти́ по хліб (to go and get bread) [src: goroh-usage].

При: by, near, in the presence of

При means by or near something, and also in someone’s presence [src: goroh-dictionary]. It is less common than the other four in everyday speech.

О, об: at a time

О with the locative tells the time of day: о дру́гій (at two). Before a vowel it becomes об: об одина́дцятій (at eleven) [src: goroh-dictionary]. Time explains these forms.

Place or direction: a recap

The locative answers де? (where?). For a direction, куди́? (where to?), в and на take the accusative instead. Під and за work the same way with the instrumental for place: see The instrumental case.

Common mistakes and limits