У/на: location versus motion
Ten minutes on the topic's central rule: у and на both switch endings depending on the question they answer - location (где?) takes the fixed -у ending, exactly like months, while motion toward a destination (куда?) takes the accusative pattern instead. Build sentences with a park and a river before choosing and translating your way through the rest.
The part of the grammar page this lesson drills — read it here, then use it.
У and на - location versus motion
Both у (in/at) and на (on/at) have two different endings depending on the question they answer. For location (где? - where?), masculine and neuter nouns take a fixed -у ending, the same pattern days-months-a1 used for months: у Београду (in Belgrade), на столу (on the table). Feminine -а nouns take -и instead: кућа → у кући (at home).
For motion toward a destination (куда? - to where?), the noun instead takes the accusative pattern from cases-introduction-a1: masculine and neuter nouns stay unchanged, feminine -а nouns become -у. Идем у Београд. (I'm going to Belgrade) leaves Београд unchanged; Идем на плажу. (I'm going to the beach) changes плажа to плажу.
| Preposition | Location (gde?) | Direction (kuda?) |
|---|---|---|
| u + Beograd | u Beogradu | u Beograd |
| na + sto | na stolu | na sto |
| u + kuća | u kući | u kuću |