Russian has six cases, and each one changes the ending of a noun to show its job in the sentence. English speakers should learn the accusative first, for direct objects (Я вижу Анну, I see Anna), then the genitive, for "of", "there is no" and numbers (нет воды, no water). Those two carry most early sentences.
English kept cases only in a few pronouns. You say "I see him", never "I see he", and "Who called?" but, in careful speech, "Whom did you call?" Russian does the same thing to every noun, adjective and possessive. Мама (mama) is the mother doing something; маму (mamu) is the mother something is done to.
That is why Russian word order can move around without changing who does what. Маша любит Таню and Таню любит Маша both mean "Masha loves Tanya", because the ending -у on Таню marks her as the object. Swap the endings, Машу любит Таня, and now Tanya loves Masha. In English only word order tells you that, so English speakers tend to ignore endings and rely on order. Russians will often still understand you, but you will regularly say something you did not mean.
| Case | Main job | Example with книга (kniga, book) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Subject, dictionary form | Книга на столе. (The book is on the table.) |
| Accusative | Direct object, direction | Я читаю книгу. (I'm reading a book.) |
| Genitive | "Of", absence, quantity | У меня нет книги. (I don't have the book.) |
| Dative | Indirect object, "to/for" | Я радуюсь книге. (I'm happy about the book.) |
| Instrumental | "With", "by means of" | Я доволен книгой. (I'm pleased with the book.) |
| Prepositional | Location, "about" | Мы говорим о книге. (We're talking about the book.) |
Any verb that takes a direct object in both languages (see, love, buy, read, want, know) puts that object in the accusative. The good news: half the forms do not change at all.
| Noun type | Nominative | Accusative |
|---|---|---|
| Feminine in -а | мама, вода | маму, воду |
| Feminine in -я | Таня, неделя | Таню, неделю |
| Feminine in -ь | дверь (dver', door) | дверь (no change) |
| Masculine, not alive | стол (stol, table), чай | стол, чай (no change) |
| Masculine, alive | брат (brat, brother), друг | брата, друга |
| Neuter | окно, море | окно, море (no change) |
The row that trips English speakers is the living masculine one. Я вижу стол (I see the table) keeps the noun as it is, but Я вижу брата (I see my brother) adds -а, because masculine people and animals borrow their genitive form in the accusative. The same applies to the words in front: Я знаю твоего брата (I know your brother), not твой брат. Masculine nouns that end in -а, like папа (papa, dad), follow the feminine pattern: Я люблю папу.
The accusative also marks direction after в (v) and на (na). Я иду в школу means "I'm going to school", while Я в школе, with the prepositional, means "I'm at school". English uses two prepositions, to and at; Russian uses one preposition and two endings.
| Noun type | Nominative | Genitive singular |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | стол, чай, брат | стола, чая, брата |
| Neuter | окно, море | окна, моря |
| Feminine in -а, -я | вода, книга, неделя | воды, книги, недели |
| Feminine in -ь | дверь | двери |
After г, к, х, ж, ш, щ and ч Russian spells и instead of ы, which is why it is книги and not книгы. You will use the genitive in five situations from your first week.
Personal pronouns are a gift here: the accusative and genitive forms are identical. Я becomes меня, ты becomes тебя, он becomes его (yevo, the г is said like v), она becomes её, мы becomes нас, вы becomes вас and они becomes их. After a preposition, его, её and их gain an н: у него, для неё, без них.
| What learners say | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Я люблю Анна. | Я люблю Анну. | Direct object, feminine -а becomes -у. |
| Я знаю твой друг. | Я знаю твоего друга. | Living masculine object takes the genitive form. |
| У меня нет брат. | У меня нет брата. | Нет always takes the genitive. |
| Две книга. | Две книги. | Two to four take the genitive singular. |
| Пять книги. | Пять книг. | Five and up take the genitive plural. |
| Я иду в школе. | Я иду в школу. | Motion "to" uses the accusative. |
Notice пять книг: many feminine nouns lose their ending in the genitive plural (книг, минут, недель). It looks like a mistake the first time you see it. Пять минут (five minutes) is a phrase you will hear daily, so learn it as a unit.
Next, take the prepositional for location (в Москве, in Moscow; на работе, at work), because it pairs with the accusative of direction you already know. Then the dative, which you need for мне нравится (I like it, literally "it pleases me"), where the thing you like is the grammatical subject. Leave the instrumental for last, starting with с (with): кофе с молоком, coffee with milk.
Cases stick when you say them, not when you read tables. Order a coffee out loud, кофе с молоком, но без сахара, and you have used the instrumental and the genitive in one breath. Practicing short exchanges like that with a tutor, or in a real café, is where the endings stop being a chart.
Six: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental and prepositional. Some grammars also list a few special forms, such as в лесу (in the forest) and чашка чаю (a cup of tea), but these are usually treated as variants of the prepositional and genitive.
The accusative, because every sentence with a direct object needs it and several noun types do not change at all. Then learn the genitive, which you need for нет, for у меня есть and for every number from two upward.
Masculine nouns for people and animals use their genitive form in the accusative. Masculine objects that are not alive stay the same, so Я вижу стол is correct, but Я вижу брата needs the -а.
Often yes, from context. But because Russian word order is flexible, endings sometimes carry the meaning: Таню любит Маша means Masha loves Tanya, and changing the endings changes who loves whom.
