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Grammar Reference
Basics
Russian nouns change their endings depending on their role in the sentence. This is called declension. There are six cases and two numbers (singular and plural). The ending you need depends on the noun's gender, its case, and its number.
Gender
Gender is usually clear from the nominative (dictionary) ending.
| Gender | Typical endings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | consonant, -й, -ь | стол, музей, словарь |
| Feminine | -а, -я, -ь | книга, неделя, дверь |
| Neuter | -о, -е | окно, море |
What each case is for
| Case | Main uses |
|---|---|
| Nominative | the subject; the dictionary form |
| Accusative | the direct object; after motion в/на |
| Genitive | "of", possession, after нет, after quantities |
| Dative | the indirect object, "to/for", after к, нравиться |
| Instrumental | "with/by", after с, professions |
| Prepositional | only after prepositions: в, на, о |
Singular endings at a glance
One example noun of each gender through all six cases. *Masculine accusative equals the nominative for things but the genitive for people and animals.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | стол | книга | окно |
| Accusative | стол / брата* | книгу | окно |
| Genitive | стола | книги | окна |
| Dative | столу | книге | окну |
| Instrumental | столом | книгой | окном |
| Prepositional | столе | книге | окне |
- After the letters г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ you write и, never ы.
- When an ending is stressed, an unstressed е often appears as ё (о́зеро → озёра).
- In this exercise, typing е instead of ё is accepted.
Accusative
The accusative marks the direct object: Я читаю книгу ("I am reading a book"). Two rules decide the ending.
Feminine: -а → -у, -я → -ю
Feminine nouns get a distinct accusative ending.
Masculine and neuter
Inanimate masculine and all neuter nouns look exactly like the nominative. But an animate masculine noun (a person or animal) takes the genitive ending: Я вижу брата.
| Noun | Nominative | Accusative | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| стол (m, thing) | стол | стол | unchanged |
| брат (m, person) | брат | брата | animate = genitive |
| книга (f) | книга | книгу | -а → -у |
| неделя (f) | неделя | неделю | -я → -ю |
| окно (n) | окно | окно | unchanged |
Genitive
The genitive expresses "of" and possession (дом брата, "the brother's house"). It is also required after нет ("there is no..."), after many prepositions (у, из, до, без, для), and after quantity words (много, мало, стакан).
| Noun | Genitive | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| стол (m) | стола | -а |
| музей (m) | музея | -я |
| книга (f) | книги | -ы / -и |
| неделя (f) | недели | -и |
| дверь (f) | двери | -и |
| окно (n) | окна | -а |
| море (n) | моря | -я |
Dative
The dative marks the indirect object, the "to/for" person: Я дал книгу брату. It follows the preposition к and the verb нравиться (Мне нравится музыка).
| Noun | Dative | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| стол (m) | столу | -у |
| музей (m) | музею | -ю |
| книга (f) | книге | -е |
| дверь (f) | двери | -и |
| окно (n) | окну | -у |
Instrumental
The instrumental expresses the means ("by/with"): Я пишу карандашом. It follows the preposition с ("together with") and names a profession after быть or работать (Он работает врачом).
| Noun | Instrumental | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| стол (m) | столом | -ом |
| музей (m) | музеем | -ем |
| книга (f) | книгой | -ой |
| неделя (f) | неделей | -ей |
| дверь (f) | дверью | -ью |
| окно (n) | окном | -ом |
Prepositional
The prepositional never appears alone. It follows в and на ("in/at", location) and о ("about"). The ending is almost always -е; feminine nouns in -ь and nouns in -ий/-ие/-ия take -и.
| Noun | Prepositional | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| стол (m) | столе | -е |
| книга (f) | книге | -е |
| дверь (f) | двери | -и |
| окно (n) | окне | -е |
| здание (n, -ие) | здании | -и |
Nominative Plural
Masculine and feminine nouns form the nominative plural in -ы/-и; neuter nouns in -а/-я. A handful of common masculine nouns take a stressed -а (дома, города) or an irregular soft plural (друзья, братья).
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| стол (m) | столы | -ы |
| музей (m) | музеи | -и |
| книга (f) | книги | -ы / -и |
| окно (n) | окна | -а |
| море (n) | моря | -я |
| дом (m) | дома | irregular -а |
| друг (m) | друзья | irregular |
| брат (m) | братья | irregular |
Genitive Plural
The genitive plural is the hardest form. It is needed after quantities (много, пять, нет). Masculine nouns usually add -ов/-ев/-ей; feminine and neuter nouns most often have a zero ending (книга → книг, окно → окон), sometimes inserting a vowel to break up the final consonants.
| Singular | Genitive plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| стол (m) | столов | -ов |
| музей (m) | музеев | -ев |
| словарь (m) | словарей | -ей |
| книга (f) | книг | zero ending |
| неделя (f) | недель | zero + -ь |
| окно (n) | окон | zero ending |
| море (n) | морей | -ей |