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I want to make sure if that is an exception or rather a rule:

between: в следующую весну

and

в следующем году

I see that we shifted from the use of the accusative to the prepositional case.

How is that possible? and what is the hidden rule behind it? (if there is one)

большое спасибо

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Probably..? Use of "в" with seasons is not as "standard" as with years. The most obvious variants are весной, летом, осенью, зимой, на следующей неделе, в следующем месяце. Here, you are treading into the usage people are accustomed to.

So the main principle is, which prepositions and cases you'd usually choose for that time period. "В 2000 году" is typical. However, you'd not use "в весне" or "в неделе" except in literal meaning ("There are 7 days in the week")

Similarly to English, different prepositions are used with different time periods.

The common usage of "следующий" goes as follows:

  • в следующий раз
  • в следующую минуту/секунду
  • в следующем часу
  • на следующий день
  • на следующей неделе
  • в следующем месяце
  • следующей весной (в следующую весну?)
  • в следующем семестре
  • в следующем году
  • в следующем десятилетии/веке/тысячелетии

Though, the reasons are not completely clear to me.

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  • thank you for the exhaustive list. useful to see where the use of prepositional applies.
    – Averroes
    Feb 4, 2015 at 8:32
  • I wonder if that has to do with a more ancient usage/case that no longer exists per se in modern russian
    – Averroes
    Feb 4, 2015 at 8:32
  • @Averroes I don't know. I have never read that much on the history of Russian. As far as I remember, when it comes to case formation, Russian (and I mean 'Ancient Russian' a.k.a. Old East Slavic) has never had more than 7 cases, and 3 numbers (singular, dual, plural). And what the usage was... need some more reading here:)
    – Shady_arc
    Feb 4, 2015 at 10:04
  • В следующую весну doesn't sound right to me at all.
    – Nikolay Ershov
    Feb 4, 2015 at 10:52
  • @NikolayErshov It is about right, though. Just a "classic literature"-style right. I'd expect it to see in a 19th century book or maybe in an article by an educated philologist rather than in everyday conversation or chat. There are instances of such use in literature. Bookish, no matter how you look at it.
    – Shady_arc
    Feb 4, 2015 at 10:58
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Это один из нестандартных падежей. Их названия и классификация могут различаться в разных источниках. Например, "местно-временной падеж".

What are the lesser known Russian cases?

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