In Russian, prepositions of absence and opposition both create phrases that feel negative in meaning, but they are a little different:
A preposition of absence is used before a noun that is absent or was not involved in a situation.
A preposition of opposition is used before a noun that works against or might oppose the action.
In this post, we’ll look at these two different types of prepositions and discuss how and when to use each one in Russian. Let’s have a look!
In Russian, prepositions of absence are used before a noun that is absent from or not included in some situation. There are quite a few prepositions in Russian used to denote absence, but luckily all of them are used before the genitive case. Here are some of the most common:
без[byes](without)
Я часто путешествую без багажа.
ya CHASta pootiSHESTvooyu byez bagaZHA
I often travel without luggage.
кроме[KROmye](except for)
Все, кроме нас, проголосовали за.
fsye KROmye nas pragalasaVAli za
Everyone but us voted in favor.
This preposition is also sometimes used to mean “apart from” or “besides,” for example, in these commonly used phrases:
кроме того
KROmye taVO
besides that
кроме всего прочего
KROmye fsiVO PROchiva
on top of all that; apart from everything else
Sometimes, the phrase за исключением[za isklyuCHEniyem] or the word the word помимо[paMEEma] can be used used is also used to mean “with the exception of” or “except for,” but кроме is far more common.
Во всех сериях, за исключением последней, действие происходит в Японии.
va fsyekh SYEriyakh za isklyuCHEniyem pasLYEDnyey dYEYstviye praisKHOdit v yiPOnii
In all episodes with the exception of the last one the show is set in Japan.
Помимо Петра, все приходят на работу вовремя.
paMEEma pitRA fsye priKHOdyat na raBOtoo VOvrimya
Except Pyotr, everyone comes to work on time.
In Modern Russian, помимо is rarely used to mean “except for.” It is primarily used in the meaning of “apart from” or “besides.”
Помимо музыки, Маша также увлекалась рисованием и танцами.
paMEEma MOOzyki MAsha TAKzhe oovliKAlas risaVAniyem i TANtsami
Apart from music, Masha was also interested in art and dancing.
вместо[VMYESta](instead of)
В этот салат вместо мяса можно положить колбасу.
v Etat saLAT VMYEsta MYAsa MOZHna palaZHEET kalbaSOO)
You can put ham instead of meat into this salad.
в отсутствие[v aTSOOTStvii](in the absence of; when there is no; without)
В отсутствие данных сложно оценить прибыльность бизнеса.
v atSOOTStvii DAnykh SLOZHna atsiNEET PREEbylnast BEEZnesa
In the absence of data it’s hard to evaluate how profitable a business is.
There is one preposition of absence that takes accusative, not genitive case: исключая[isklyuCHAya]. Originally, it was a participle meaning ‘excluding’, and therefore it takes the same grammatical case as the verb исключать[isklyuCHAT] in Russian.
In Russian, prepositions of opposition are used before nouns that work against or might prevent a situation. The most common ones are listed below:
наперекор + dative
The preposition наперекор[napiriKOR] can be translated as “сontrary to,” “in spite of,” “against,” or “in the teeth of.”
В то время мало кто решался идти наперекор воле родителей или общественному мнению.
f to VRYEmya MAla kto riSHALsya iTEE napiriKOR VOlye raDEEtilyey EEli apSHCHESTvinamoo MNYEniyu
At that time few dared to go against their parents’ will or public opinion.
Наперекор is often used with the verbs идти[iTEE](to go), пойти[payTEE](to go) in the meaning “to go against something/someone,” and is also used in the phrases:
наперекор судьбе
napiriKOR soodBYE
against one’s fate
наперекор здравому смыслу
napiriKOR ZDRAvamoo SMYSloo
against all common sense
вопреки + dative
Вопреки[vapriKEE] can mean “сontrary to,” “in spite of,” or “against.”
Вопреки расхожему мнению, в России не везде и не всегда холодно.
vapriKEE rasKHOzhimoo MNYEniyu v raSEEi nye vizDYE i nye fsigDA KHOladna
Contrary to popular belief, not everywhere and not always it is cold in Russia.
Вопреки is mostly used in phrases that are used at the beginning of a sentence, such as:
вопреки желаниям
vapriKEE zhiLAniyam
contrary to (someone’s) wishes
вопреки прогнозам
vapriKEE praGNOzam
contrary to the forecast
вопреки ожиданиям
vapriKEE azhiDAniyam
contrary to expectations
несмотря на + accusative
Несмотря на[nismatRYA na](in spite of) is a very common preposition of opposition and concession in Russian.
Он пошёл на работу, несмотря на плохое самочувствие.
on paSHOL na raBOtoo nismatRYA na plaKHOye samaCHOOstviye
He went to work despite feeling unwell.
One of this preposition’s uses is in the common phrase несмотря ни на что[nismatRYA ni na shto)](against all odds).
The preposition несмотря на is spelled as two words, even though it comes from the participle не смотря на[nye smatRYA na](not looking at), which is spelled as three words. Compare:
Он шёл вперёд, несмотря на страх.
on shol fpiRYOT nismatRYA na strakh
He went ahead in spite of (his) fear.
Он шёл вперед, не смотря на лица людей вокруг.
on shol fpiRYOT ni smatRYA na litsa lyuDYEY vakROOK
He went ahead without looking at the faces of people around.
против + genitive
Против[PROtif] means "against."
Никто не возражал против новых правил.
niKTO ni vazraZHAL PROtif NOvykh PRAvil
Nobody went against the new rules.
в отличие от + genitive
В отличие от[v atLEEchii at] means "unlike."
В отличие от английского языка, в русском нет артиклей.
v atLEEchii at angLEEYskava v ROOSkam yizyKYE nyet arTEEKlyey
Unlike (in) the English language, there are no articles in Russian.
We have looked at the prepositions of absence and opposition. The most important things to remember about grammar used with those are:
All prepositions of absence must be followed by the genitive case.
Different prepositions of opposition are followed by dative, accusative, or genitive.
Download the exercises below to see if you have mastered these two types of Russian prepositions!
