Под

[freedomcry.livejournal.com]

A funny picture about three different uses of the preposition "под" (under).



All three answers are, or seem to be, correct. "Под" with cities means "near", "in the outskirts of", and "под" is used with psychoactive substances where English uses "on".

Comments

[branwen.livejournal.com]

Hehe, that's great! :)

[olydiagron.livejournal.com]

Actually, when you think about it - why is learning prepositions so boring?

I've known English for more than half my life, and preposistions is still a big problem for me, (and now i'm too old, and i just dont care: so, I speak funny sometimes, people still understand me...)

I wish somebody taught me English prepostions in the above examplified way. (English preposistions is much harder than Russian, I say that allthough I am a germanic speaker myself...)

When I think about it, could it be, because of the cases, you use prepositions more seldom in Russian than in germanic languages?

[freedomcry.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure the difference is significant. There are only three prepositions that the Russian case system can replace: "of" (genitive), "to" (dative) and "with" (instrumental), and you do need the latter two sometimes – "к" is "to" as in "towards" (rather than pointing at the indirect object), and "с" is "with" as in "accompanied by" (rather than pointing at the instrument/agent).

[apredeus.livejournal.com]

>When I think about it, could it be, because of the cases, you use prepositions more seldom in Russian than in germanic languages?

well, yeah, that's a known fact :)

some other languages have up to 11 cases, and almost no prepositions at all.

The problem with English prepositions though is the fact that there probably are more exceptions then rules :(

[khathi.livejournal.com]

Actually, more. In Inuit, IIRC, there are 27 cases.

[la-dy-ashley.livejournal.com]

about 40 in some Caucasian languages, actually:)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_umaturman/]

where did you get this from? i want this textbook! :)

[freedomcry.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure it's a textbook, and not just something funny someone drew. Seen here (http://semen0v.livejournal.com/233549.html).

[http://users.livejournal.com/_umaturman/]

http://www.multitran.ru/Lipson/Lipson.htm
"Западный и Восточный Блинск" is my favorite :)

[alon_68]

Неужели это не стёб? :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_umaturman/]

I wish it wasn't... :)

[pashator.livejournal.com]

Actually that's not exactly correct, you can not say: "под наркотиками", but you can say "под действием наркотиков" ("under the influence of drugs"). "On drugs" will be excatly the same as in English, "на наркотиках".

[freedomcry.livejournal.com]

«На наркотиках» is a gross solecism.

[pashator.livejournal.com]

It's coming from "сидеть на наркотиках" (literally "to sit on drugs") where word "to sit" is droped and for sure you can not say "сидеть под наркотиками", "под кокаином" ("under cocaine"), but it's absolutely normal to say "под кайфом" ("under influence").

* Of course you're entitled to your own opinion.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

Alternatively you could say "под градусом/мухой/шафе" and the 2nd case would expand to 2 meanings, if a fly was drawn on the picture above the man. ;)

[pashator.livejournal.com]

+1

[freedomcry.livejournal.com]

That's something different then. "Сидеть на наркотиках" refers to an addiction in the long run, not a single "high".

[pashator.livejournal.com]

If you wanna talk about single "high" you say "под кайфом" ("under influence"), but I've never heard anybody saying "под кокаином", "под героином", "под экстази" (neither in English "under cocaine", "under heroin", "under X", but it's perfectly fine "He's on X" even when you talk about particular moment).

[oiseau-russe.livejournal.com]

На наркотиках means addiction. Tot the situation in this wery moment. I've never heard под наркотиками, but you can easily say под кайфом :) Or под марихуаной/героином/ЛСД, meaning that a person is under the influence of a prcise drug in this moment.

[pashator.livejournal.com]

+1

[kragoth.livejournal.com]

I praise you for the explanation, because I felt stupid not understanding it.