Speak and Write Language Series
Pre-A1 to A1 Volume I Chapter 6 Unit II
Юнит II — Пра́ктик­а ка́ждый день | Unit II — Everyday Practical Life
6

До́ма и в райо́не

Home and Neighborhood · Speak and Write Russian: Foundations of Practical Communication

Chapter Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. Name the rooms of a home and common pieces of furniture.
  2. Say where something or someone is located, using the prepositional case after в and на.
  3. Say what exists or does not exist in a place, using есть and нет with the genitive case.
  4. Choose correctly between в and на for common locations.
  5. Name common places in a neighborhood and describe what is nearby.
  6. Build simple existential sentences in the word order Russian speakers actually use, placing the location first when it is already known.

Communication Scenario

Anna has just moved into a small apartment near the center of Kazan, and her new neighbor, Nikolai, stops by to introduce himself. As they talk, Anna describes her apartment room by room, and Nikolai tells her what she will find in the neighborhood, from the nearest metro station to the small shop on the corner. Their conversation is built entirely from naming rooms, saying where things are, and saying what is or is not there, the three tasks at the center of this chapter.

  1. Every new pattern in this chapter answers one question: where is it, and what is here or not here.
  2. The prepositional case appears only after the location prepositions в and на, exactly as needed for this chapter's tasks.
  3. The genitive case appears only in the fixed frame нет + genitive, building directly on the formulaic у меня́ есть/нет from Chapter 4.

Core Vocabulary

The nouns below are productive vocabulary for this chapter. Each entry shows stress, gender, and the prepositional singular form, since the prepositional case is active in this chapter.

Rooms and parts of the home
RussianGenderPrepositional (в/на + ...)English
кварти́раfeminineв кварти́реapartment
ко́мнатаfeminineв ко́мнатеroom
ку́хняfeminineна ку́хнеkitchen
ва́ннаяfeminineв ва́ннойbathroom
спа́льняfeminineв спа́льнеbedroom
балко́нmasculineна балко́неbalcony
коридо́рmasculineв коридо́реhallway
Furniture and household objects
RussianGenderEnglish
столmasculinetable
стулmasculinechair
дива́нmasculinesofa
крова́тьfemininebed
окно́neuterwindow
дверьfemininedoor
лампаfemininelamp
Places in the neighborhood
RussianGenderPrepositional (в/на + ...)English
райо́нmasculineв райо́неneighborhood, district
у́лицаfeminineна у́лицеstreet
магази́нmasculineв магази́неstore
паркmasculineв па́ркеpark
метро́neuter, indeclinableв метро́metro, subway
апте́каfeminineв апте́кеpharmacy
остано́вкаfeminineна остано́вке(bus/tram) stop

Numbers, family vocabulary, and greeting vocabulary from Chapters 1 through 5 remain fully productive and are recycled throughout this chapter.

Pronunciation Focus

Pronunciation Focus — Prepositional endings and word stress

Most prepositional singular endings are unstressed -е, so let the vowel weaken naturally rather than pronouncing it as a full, clear e: в ко́мнате, в кварти́ре, в магази́не. Watch for the small set of nouns whose stress shifts onto the ending itself, such as на столе́ from стол and в окне́ from окно́, both marked with the pedagogical stress mark so you do not guess.

  • Practice the contrast between сто́л in the nominative and на столе́ in the prepositional, saying both aloud until the shifted stress feels natural.
  • Remember that метро́ never changes its ending, so its stress never moves either.

Grammar and Sentence Patterns

Prepositional Case After в and на

Use the prepositional case to say where something is located.

Building Block
в/на + [noun in the prepositional case]
Most masculine and neuter nouns add -е; most feminine nouns in -а/-я also add -е; feminine nouns ending in a soft sign, such as крова́ть, add -и instead.
Дива́н в ко́мнате.
The sofa is in the room.
  • Стол на ку́хне.The table is in the kitchen.на + кухня → на ку́хне
  • Кни́га в спа́льне.The book is in the bedroom.в + спальня → в спа́льне
  • Крова́ть в ко́мнате.The bed is in the room.-ь noun → в комнате (soft feminine, -е ending)
  • Апте́ка на у́лице Пу́шкина.The pharmacy is on Pushkin Street.на + улица → на улице
Language Focus — в or на?

в is used for enclosed spaces such as rooms, buildings, cities, and countries: в кварти́ре, в магази́не, в Москве́. на is used for surfaces, open or public spaces, and a fixed group of nouns that Russian simply treats this way, including на у́лице, на балко́не, and на остано́вке. This chapter activates only the specific nouns listed in the vocabulary tables above. Do not guess в or на for a noun that has not yet been taught with its preposition.

Existence and Absence: есть and нет

Use есть to state that something exists in a place, and нет + genitive to state that it does not.

Building Block
В/на + [location] есть + [noun, nominative]
The location comes first, then есть, then the thing that exists, in the nominative case.
В кварти́ре есть балко́н.
There is a balcony in the apartment.
Building Block
В/на + [location] нет + [noun, genitive]
нет is followed by the genitive case, exactly as in у меня́ нет from Chapter 4. Only a small set of genitive singular endings is active here: masculine and neuter nouns add -а, and feminine nouns in -а/-я change to -ы/-и.
В ко́мнате нет дива́на.
There is no sofa in the room.
  • В магази́не есть хлеб.There is bread in the store.masculine noun, nominative after есть
  • В апте́ке нет врача́.There is no doctor at the pharmacy.masculine noun, genitive after нет: врач → врача́
  • В ко́мнате есть окно́, но окна́ нет на ку́хне.There is a window in the room, but there is no window in the kitchen.neuter noun: окно́ → окна́ in the genitive
  • В на́шем райо́не есть парк, а метро́ нет.There is a park in our neighborhood, but there is no metro.метро́ is indeclinable, so its form does not change
Grammar Note — Word order in existential statements

When you introduce a new place and then say what is in it, the location comes first: В кварти́ре есть ку́хня. This word order tells the listener that the location is already known and the new information is what exists there. If instead you already know the object and want to ask or say where it is, the known noun can come first: Дива́н в ко́мнате, meaning specifically that the sofa, a known object, is in the room. Both patterns are correct; the difference is which piece of information is new.

Common Mistake — Adding есть to every sentence

Error: Saying Дива́н есть в ко́мнате when simply stating where a known sofa is located.

Correction: Use есть only when announcing that something exists in a place. When the object is already known and you are only stating its location, drop есть: Дива́н в ко́мнате.

Model Dialogue: До́ма и в райо́не

Context: Anna has just moved in. Her new neighbor Nikolai stops by to say hello and asks about her new apartment.

Никола́й: Здра́вствуйте! Как ва́ша но́вая кварти́ра? Hello! How is your new apartment?
А́нна: Хорошо́, спаси́бо! В кварти́ре есть ко́мната, ку́хня и ва́нная. В ко́мнате есть дива́н и стол, а крова́ти нет, она́ ещё в маши́не. Good, thank you! In the apartment there is a room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. In the room there is a sofa and a table, but there is no bed, it is still in the car.
Никола́й: А балко́н есть? And is there a balcony?
А́нна: Да, балко́н есть, он на ку́хне. А что есть в на́шем райо́не? Yes, there is a balcony, it is off the kitchen. And what is there in our neighborhood?
Никола́й: В на́шем райо́не есть парк и апте́ка, а магази́н на у́лице Пу́шкина. Метро́ здесь нет, но остано́вка недалеко́. In our neighborhood there is a park and a pharmacy, and the store is on Pushkin Street. There is no metro here, but the bus stop is not far.
А́нна: Отли́чно! Прия́тно познако́миться, Никола́й. Excellent! Nice to meet you, Nikolai.

Notice that Anna introduces new information with the location first, as in В кварти́ре есть ко́мната, but once an object is already known, she can lead with it instead, as in Она́ ещё в маши́не.

Listening Practice

If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text to speech tool to read the passage below aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly.

Listening script
Это моя́ кварти́ра. В кварти́ре есть ко́мната, ку́хня, ва́нная и балко́н. В ко́мнате есть дива́н, стол и два сту́ла, а крова́ти нет, крова́ть в спа́льне. На ку́хне есть окно́, но ла́мпы на ку́хне нет. В на́шем райо́не есть парк, апте́ка и магази́н, а метро́ нет.
This is my apartment. In the apartment there is a room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a balcony. In the room there is a sofa, a table, and two chairs, but there is no bed, the bed is in the bedroom. In the kitchen there is a window, but there is no lamp in the kitchen. In our neighborhood there is a park, a pharmacy, and a store, but there is no metro.
  1. List every room mentioned in the apartment.
  2. What is in the room, and what is missing from it?
  3. What is in the neighborhood, and what is not there?

Speaking Practice

Управля́емая пра́ктика — Controlled practice: describe the rooms

Point to a picture of an apartment, or imagine your own home, and name each room using в or на correctly, following the pattern В кварти́ре есть...

Коммуникати́вное зада́ние — Communicative task: what is and is not there

With a partner, take turns describing a room from memory while your partner guesses which room it is, using at least three есть statements and one нет statement.

Самостоя́тельная пра́ктика — Solo alternative

Record a description of your own home and neighborhood, naming at least four rooms or places and stating one thing that exists and one thing that does not exist in each. Listen back and check your в/на choices and your prepositional and genitive endings.

Reading Practice

Моя́ но́вая кварти́ра — My new apartment

Приве́т! Меня́ зову́т Ди́ма. Я живу́ в но́вой кварти́ре в це́нтре го́рода. В кварти́ре есть ко́мната, ку́хня и ва́нная, а спа́льни нет, я сплю в ко́мнате. На ку́хне есть стол, два сту́ла и ма́ленькое окно́. В ко́мнате есть дива́н и ла́мпа, а стола́ там нет. В на́шем райо́не есть магази́н и остано́вка, а апте́ки нет, апте́ка на друго́й у́лице. Мне о́чень нра́вится моя́ кварти́ра!

Зада́ние по чте́нию — Reading task:

  1. Where does Dima live, and which rooms does his apartment have?
  2. What is in the kitchen, and what is in the room?
  3. What is in the neighborhood, and what is missing?

Writing Workshop

Complete the following linked writing tasks in order.

Зада́ние 1 — Complete the sentence: Choose в or на and write the noun in the correct case.

Choose в or на, and give the correct case
1. Дива́н ___ (ко́мната). 2. Стол ___ (ку́хня). 3. Мы гуля́ем ___ (у́лица). 4. Кни́га ___ (спа́льня). 5. Остано́вка ___ (у́лица) Пу́шкина.
1. The sofa is in the room. 2. The table is in the kitchen. 3. We are walking on the street. 4. The book is in the bedroom. 5. The bus stop is on Pushkin Street.

Зада́ние 2 — Descriptive paragraph: Write six to eight sentences describing your home and neighborhood. Name at least three rooms, state one thing that exists and one thing that does not exist using есть and нет, and describe at least two places in your neighborhood.

  1. Review the vocabulary tables above. Confirm the gender and prepositional form of each noun you plan to use.
  2. Complete the в/на exercise. Check each choice against the Language Focus box.
  3. Draft your paragraph. Decide, sentence by sentence, whether the location or the object is already known, and order your words accordingly.
  4. Read your paragraph aloud once. Listen for correct prepositional and genitive endings.
  5. Check every нет phrase. Confirm the genitive ending matches the noun's gender.

Спи́сок прове́рки — Editing checklist:

  • Every noun after в or на is in the correct prepositional form.
  • Every noun after нет is in the correct genitive form.
  • есть appears only when introducing new information, not with every known object.
  • Location-first word order is used when announcing what exists in a place.
  • No vocabulary or grammar from outside Chapters 1 through 6 has been used.

Culture and Communication

Culture in Context — Apartment living and neighborhoods

Many people in Russian-speaking cities live in apartments rather than single-family houses, and a neighborhood's metro station, bus stop, small shop, and pharmacy are often mentioned as everyday landmarks when describing where someone lives. Asking a new neighbor about their apartment, as Nikolai does in the Model Dialogue, is a common and friendly way to begin a conversation.

Regional Variation — Housing varies widely

Housing types, neighborhood layouts, and the presence of a metro system differ considerably across Russian-speaking cities and regions, and also among Russian-speaking communities outside the Russian Federation. Do not assume that every Russian-speaking city has a metro, or that every home is an apartment; the examples in this chapter describe one common pattern, not a universal one.

Common Mistakes

Common Mistake — Using в for a на-noun

Error: Saying в у́лице instead of на у́лице.

Correction: Learn в/на together with each noun as a fixed pair, rather than guessing from the English word "on" or "in." Review the vocabulary tables above, which mark the correct preposition for every noun in this chapter.

Common Mistake — Leaving the noun in the nominative after нет

Error: Saying в ко́мнате нет дива́н instead of в ко́мнате нет дива́на.

Correction: нет always requires the genitive case, exactly as in у меня́ нет from Chapter 4. Change the noun's ending accordingly.

Common Mistake — Reversing the word order for new information

Error: Saying Дива́н есть в ко́мнате as the very first sentence describing an unfamiliar room, before the listener knows what is in it.

Correction: When you are introducing what exists in a place for the first time, place the location first: В ко́мнате есть дива́н.

Chapter Review

Часть A — Понима́ние (Comprehension)

1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.

  1. What three rooms does Anna mention in her new apartment?
  2. What does Nikolai say is missing from the neighborhood?

Часть B — Пи́сьменная речь (Writing)

1. Write four sentences describing a room of your choice, including at least one есть statement and one нет statement.

2. Give the prepositional form of ку́хня, стол, and окно́.

Часть C — Чте́ние (Reading)

1. Return to the reading passage, and list every есть phrase and every нет phrase that appears in it.

Часть D — Говоре́ние (Speaking)

1. With a partner, describe your own home and neighborhood, using at least three rooms or places and both есть and нет.

Practical Performance Task

Chapter 6 Practical Check

Моя́ кварти́ра и мой райо́н: A Home and Neighborhood Tour

Complete the following connected tasks, in order, treating them as one full description of a home and neighborhood.

  1. Read the Model Dialogue and the reading passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
  2. Name at least three rooms of a home. Use the correct gender and, where needed, the prepositional case.
  3. State one thing that exists and one thing that does not exist in two different rooms. Use есть and нет + genitive correctly.
  4. Describe your neighborhood. Name at least two places, choosing в or на correctly for each.
  5. State one thing that is missing from your neighborhood. Use нет with the correct genitive form.
  6. Write your six to eight sentence paragraph from the Writing Workshop. Apply the editing checklist.
CriterionWhat is assessed
Room and place vocabularyThe learner names rooms and neighborhood places accurately, using correct gender.
в/на selectionThe learner chooses в or на correctly for each location taught in this chapter.
Prepositional case accuracyThe learner forms the prepositional singular correctly after в and на.
есть/нет accuracyThe learner uses есть with the nominative and нет with the genitive, matching gender correctly.
Word order in existential statementsThe learner places the location first when introducing new information about what exists in a place.
Stress and Cyrillic controlThe learner produces marked stress with reasonable accuracy and writes practiced vocabulary in accurate Cyrillic.

This checkpoint uses only material introduced in this chapter together with recycled material from Chapters 1 through 5. No item on this rubric requires a system that has not yet been taught.

Answer Key

Listening — Comprehension

  1. The apartment has a room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a balcony.
  2. The room has a sofa, a table, and two chairs, but no bed, since the bed is in the bedroom.
  3. The neighborhood has a park, a pharmacy, and a store, but no metro.

Model Dialogue — Comprehension

  1. Anna mentions a room, a kitchen, and a bathroom.
  2. Nikolai says there is no metro nearby, though the bus stop is not far.

Writing

  1. 1. Дива́н в ко́мнате. 2. Стол на ку́хне. 3. Мы гуля́ем на у́лице. 4. Кни́га в спа́льне. 5. Остано́вка на у́лице Пу́шкина.
  2. Sample answer: В на́шей кварти́ре есть ко́мната и ку́хня, а балко́на нет. На ку́хне есть стол и окно́, но ла́мпы нет. Other combinations using this chapter's vocabulary and patterns are also correct.
  3. ку́хня → на ку́хне; стол → на столе́; окно́ → в окне́.

Reading

  1. Dima lives in a new apartment in the center of the city. His apartment has a room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, but no separate bedroom, since he sleeps in the room.
  2. The kitchen has a table, two chairs, and a small window. The room has a sofa and a lamp, but no table.
  3. The neighborhood has a store and a bus stop, but no pharmacy, since the pharmacy is on a different street.

Looking Ahead

Что вы уже уме́ете — What you can do now

You can name the rooms of a home and common furniture, say where something is located using в or на with the prepositional case, state what exists or does not exist in a place using есть and нет + genitive, and describe your neighborhood, choosing your word order to match what is already known and what is new.

Продолже́ние: Гла́ва 7 — Continuing on: Chapter 7

Мой обы́чный день introduces telling time, describing daily routines with reflexive verbs, sequencing actions, and negating routine actions, as you move on to talking about your everyday schedule.