Nominative & Accusative Case
Russian Cases Overview
Russian has 6 cases. The case of a noun changes its ending based on its role in the sentence.
| Case | Question | Pronunciation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | кто? что? | kto? shto? | Subject |
| Accusative | кого? что? | ka-VO? shto? | Direct object |
| Genitive | кого? чего? | ka-VO? chye-VO? | Possession / absence |
| Dative | кому? чему? | ka-MOO? chye-MOO? | Indirect object |
| Instrumental | кем? чем? | kyem? chyem? | With / by means of |
| Prepositional | о ком? о чём? | a kom? a chyom? | About / in |
Nominative Case (Именительный падеж)
The basic, “dictionary” form. Used for the subject of the sentence.
- Кот спит. (kot spit) (The cat is sleeping.)
- Анна читает книгу. (AH-na chi-TA-yet KNEEgoo) (Anna is reading a book.)
Accusative Case (Винительный падеж)
Used for the direct object — what the action is done to.
| Gender | Nominative | Accusative |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine (inanimate) | стол | стол (no change) |
| Masculine (animate) | студент | студента |
| Feminine | книга | книгу |
| Neuter | окно | окно (no change) |
💡 Animate vs inanimate matters for masculine nouns! People/animals change; objects don’t.
Examples
- Я вижу стол. (ya VEE-zhoo stol) (I see the table.) — inanimate, no change
- Я вижу студента. (ya VEE-zhoo stoo-DYEN-ta) (I see the student.) — animate, -а ending
- Я читаю книгу. (ya chi-TA-yu KNEEgoo) (I’m reading a book.) — feminine, -у ending
Practice
What case is used for the subject of a sentence?
Nominative (именительный падеж)
Accusative of книга (book, feminine)?
книгу (я читаю книгу = I read a book)
Why does студент → студента in accusative but стол stays стол?
Animate nouns (people, animals) change in accusative masculine; inanimate nouns don't