What are Russian cases?

What are Russian cases?

In this article, you will learn about all cases in Russian, how and why they are used, and you will also read many examples of the use of each of the cases in speech.

The case is a grammatical category of some parts of speech, which helps to coordinate words with each other in a sentence. When words change in cases, their endings also change. In Russian, there are both changeable and unchangeable words. For modified words belonging to nouns, adjectives, numerals, and pronouns, you can specify the form of the word that corresponds to a certain case. There are six cases in Russian: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, and prepositional. Now we will talk in detail about each of them.

Briefly about all cases of the Russian language

1) The nominative case – Именительный падеж. The nominative case expresses an independent position of a noun in a phrase or sentence. The nominative singular form of nouns is the initial form of nouns in Russian. Nouns in the nominative case answer the questions: Who? What? (Кто? Что?).

Ма́ма (Кто?) купи́ла пода́рок для до́чери на пра́здник.

Mom (Who?) bought a gift for her daughter for the holiday.

2) The genitive case – Родительный падеж. In Russian is an indirect case that expresses the meaning of an object, as well as subjective or object relations. In the genitive case, nouns answer the questions “Who? Кого?”, “What? Чего?” and are secondary members of the sentence. As a general rule, nouns with the ending -а in the genitive case end in -ы, and nouns with the endings -я/-ъ end in -и. Adjectives change similarly: -ая becomes -oй, and –я becomes -ей.

У нас нет необходи́мой кни́ги (Чего?).

We don’t have the required book.

3) The dative case – Дательный падеж. In the language denotes the transfer of an action to someone or something, that is, it is used to indicate the recipient of the action, someone or something, to whom or what something is given or addressed.

In Russian, the dative case is often used along with prepositions such as “к”, “на”, “по”, “с”, “за” and others, to indicate the direction of action. Words in the dative case answer the questions: To whom? Кому? What? Чему?

Я дал соба́ке (Кому?) еду́.

I gave the dog food.

4) The accusative case – Винительный падеж. In the language denotes a direct object to the action, that is, it is used to indicate the object that is directly subject to the action of the verb.

In Russian, the accusative case has a different form from the nominative case, and is usually formed by changing the ending of a word. In the accusative case, nouns answer the questions “Who?” «Кого?» , “What?” «Что?». The accusative case is used with the prepositions “в”, “за”, “на”, “про”, “через”.

For feminine nouns in the singular, the ending usually changes to “-у” or “-ю”. For example: ручка – ручку, книга – книгу.

For masculine and neuter nouns in the singular, the ending can be “-а” or “-я”, but there may also be exceptions, for example: стол – стол, дом – дом.

In the plural, the accusative case ending for all genders usually ends in “-ы” or “-и”. For example: дома – дома, книги – книги.

Я купи́л но́вую интере́сную кни́гу (Что?) .

I bought a new interesting book.

5) The instrumental case – Творительный падеж. In the language denotes the instrument or means of action with which the action is performed, and also denotes the mode or circumstance of the action. In Russian, the instrumental case is formed by changing the endings of words. He answers the questions “чем?”, “кем?” or “каким образом?”. The instrumental case is often used with the preposition “с” to indicate the means by which an action is performed.

It can also be used with prepositions “о”, “об”, “на”, “за”, “под” and others to indicate the manner, circumstance, or cause of an action.

Я игра́ю на скри́пке (На чём?).

I’m playing violin.

6) The prepositional case – Предложный падеж. In a language usually denotes the place, direction, or circumstance of an action. It is also used to refer to the object or subject at which the action is directed. In Russian, the prepositional case is formed by adding the ending to the word “-е” или “-и”. It answers such questions “о чём?”, “о ком?”, “на чём?”, “на ком?”, “в чём?” или “в ком?”.

The prepositional case is often used with prepositions, for example: “в”, “на”, “о”, “об”, “при”, “с”, “у” and others.

За́втра мы с друзья́ми пойдём в парк (Куда?) .

Knowing the cases in Russian is very important for the correct formation and understanding of sentences. The correct use of cases helps the speaker to express his thoughts more accurately, clearly and logically. As well as understanding of texts and speech of other people.

Cases affect the form of verbs, nouns, adjectives, and pronouns, as well as the use of conjunctions and prepositions. For example, for correct usage of prepositions, you need to know which case they require. It will help to make your speech more clear and fluent.

In addition, knowledge of cases is necessary for the correct design of written texts and colloquial statements. Errors in the use of cases can lead to misunderstanding and distortion of the meaning of the message.

Knowing cases is also important for learning other languages, especially those with complex case systems such as German or Latin.

In addition to the reasons described above, knowing cases in Russian can be useful for:

1) Correct pronunciation of words. In Russian, the stress on a word can fall on different syllables depending on the case, which can affect its pronunciation.

2) Literature readings. Russian literature contains many complex,  multi component sentences using various cases. Knowledge of cases helps to understand and enjoy literary works.

3) If you plan to communicate in Russian with native speakers, knowing the cases can make communication much easier and more effective.

4) Knowing cases is an integral part of learning the Russian language at school or university. As part of the educational process, cases are studied in more depth, including the rules for their formation and use in different contexts.

In this article, you learned why it is so important to know cases in Russian, and also learned brief rules and descriptions of each of the cases. Now you have a great start to further study of Russian grammar.

We wish you good luck in learning Russian!