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●Russian from zero · Part 11 of 101
Russian grammar·Cases

Russian cases, explained simply

Russian words change their endings to show what job they do in a sentence. Those forms are called cases. This guide explains all six: what each one is for, how its endings work, and how to choose the right one.

A1–B1 22 min read 6 cases · 3 genders Audio for every example
кни́га“book” книгаNOMINATIVE книгиGENITIVE книгеDATIVE книгуACCUSATIVE книгойINSTRUMENTAL о книгеPREPOSITIONAL
One word, six forms. Only the red ending changes; the start of the word, книг-, stays the same.
The short answer

What is a case?

A case is a form of a noun (a word for a thing or person) that shows its role in the sentence: is it doing the action, receiving it, or is it the place where something happens?

English has cases too, but only in pronouns. You say “I see him” but “he sees me”. Same person, two forms, depending on the job. Russian does this with every noun, pronoun and adjective, using six cases.

The good news: because endings show the role, Russian word order is flexible, and you can usually understand a sentence even if you’re unsure of the ending.

ENGLISH: ONLY PRONOUNS CHANGE I see him.He sees me. RUSSIAN: EVERY NOUN CHANGES Мама ви́дит.Я ви́жу маму. Mum sees.I see Mum.
Ма́ма (the one who sees) becomes ма́му (the one being seen), just as “I” becomes “me”.
Case 01 of 06

The Nominative case

имени́тельный · i-mi-NEE-tyel’-niy
The dictionary form. If you look a word up, this is what you’ll find.
The full guide to the Nominative case →
It answersКто? Что?Who? What?
When to use it
1The subject: the person or thing doing the action.
2After “this is…” (э́то) and in introductions.
3After “there is” in descriptions: Вот банк, “here’s a bank”.
Singular endings
Masculine стол— from стол
Feminine кни́га from кни́га
Neuter окно́ from окно́
Nothing to learn here: this is the form you start from.
Examples
MA-ma ra-BO-ta-yet Mum works. → Mum is working. Ма́ма is doing the action, so it stays in its dictionary form.
E-ta stol This table. → This is a table. Russian drops “is”. After э́то, the noun is always nominative.
Case 02 of 06

The Accusative case

вини́тельный · vi-NEE-tyel’-niy
The thing the action is done to: what you see, read, buy or love.
The full guide to the Accusative case →
It answersКого́? Что?Whom? What?
When to use it
1The direct object of a verb: Я люблю́ ко́фе, “I love coffee”.
2Direction after в and на: в Москву́, “to Moscow”.
3Time with days of the week: в сре́ду, “on Wednesday”.
Singular endings
Masculine стол— from стол
Feminine кни́гу from кни́га
Neuter окно́ from окно́
Only feminine nouns change here (-а → -у, -я → -ю). Masculine nouns for people and animals do change: брат → бра́та.
Examples
ya chi-TA-yu KNEE-gu I read book. → I’m reading a book. The book is what’s being read, so кни́га becomes кни́гу.
my YE-dim v mask-VU We go into Moscow. → We’re going to Moscow. в + accusative means motion towards a place.
Case 03 of 06

The Prepositional case

предло́жный · prid-LOZH-niy
Location and topic. It never appears without a preposition, hence the name.
The full guide to the Prepositional case →
It answersО ком? О чём? Где?About whom? About what? Where?
When to use it
1Location after в (in) and на (on, at): в Москве́, на столе́.
2The topic after о (about): о кни́ге, “about the book”.
3Means of transport after на: на метро́, “by metro”.
Singular endings
Masculine столе́ from стол
Feminine кни́ге from кни́га
Neuter окне́ from окно́
Almost always -е, for every gender. Feminine nouns in -ия take -ии: в Росси́и.
Examples
ya zhi-VU v mask-VYE I live in Moscow. → I live in Moscow. в + prepositional means being inside a place.
my ga-va-REEM a KNEE-gye We speak about book. → We’re talking about the book. о (about) always takes the prepositional.
Case 04 of 06

The Genitive case

роди́тельный · ra-DEE-tyel’-niy
The most common case in Russian: “of”, absence, and counting.
The full guide to the Genitive case →
It answersКого́? Чего́?Of whom? Of what?
When to use it
1Possession and “of”: кни́га бра́та, “(my) brother’s book”.
2Absence after нет: нет вре́мени, “there’s no time”.
3After из, от, до, у, без and after numbers 2–4 and 5+.
Singular endings
Masculine стола́ from стол
Feminine кни́ги from кни́га
Neuter окна́ from окно́
Feminine -а becomes -ы, or -и after г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ (spelling rule). That’s why кни́га → кни́ги.
Examples
u mi-NYA nyet KNEE-gi By me no book. → I don’t have a book. нет (there isn’t) always puts the missing thing in the genitive.
ya iz LON-da-na I from London. → I’m from London. из (from) takes the genitive. Masculine nouns add -а.
Case 05 of 06

The Dative case

да́тельный · DA-tyel’-niy
The receiver: who you give to, tell, call or help.
The full guide to the Dative case →
It answersКому́? Чему́?To whom? To what?
When to use it
1The indirect object: who receives something.
2Feelings and age: Мне хо́лодно, “I’m cold”; Мне 30 лет, “I’m 30”.
3After к (towards) and по (along, by).
Singular endings
Masculine столу́ from стол
Feminine кни́ге from кни́га
Neuter окну́ from окно́
Masculine and neuter add -у. Feminine takes -е, the same as the prepositional.
Examples
ya zva-NYU MA-mye I call to-Mum. → I’m calling Mum. In Russian you “call to” someone, so ма́ма becomes ма́ме.
mnye NRA-vit-sa mask-VA To-me pleases Moscow. → I like Moscow. мне is the dative of я. The thing you like is the subject.
Case 06 of 06

The Instrumental case

твори́тельный · tva-REE-tyel’-niy
The tool or companion: what you do something with.
The full guide to the Instrumental case →
It answersКем? Чем?With whom? With what?
When to use it
1The tool or means: писа́ть ру́чкой, “to write with a pen”.
2Together with someone after с: с дру́гом, “with a friend”.
3Professions after быть and стать: Он стал врачо́м, “he became a doctor”.
Singular endings
Masculine столо́м from стол
Feminine кни́гой from кни́га
Neuter окно́м from окно́
Masculine and neuter add -ом (-ем after soft consonants). Feminine changes -а to -ой.
Examples
ya pi-SHU RUCH-kay I write by-pen. → I write with a pen. No word for “with” is needed: the ending -ой already says it.
ya pyu chai s li-MO-nam I drink tea with lemon. → I drink tea with lemon. с (with, together) takes the instrumental.

How to choose the right case

Ask these questions about the word, in this order. The first “yes” gives you the case. It isn’t perfect (prepositions can override it, see below), but it works for most beginner sentences.

Example: in Я пишу́ ма́ме письмо́ ру́чкой, “I write Mum a letter with a pen”, я is the subject (nominative), письмо́ is the thing written (accusative), ма́ме is the receiver (dative), and ру́чкой is the tool (instrumental).

Is it doing the action? Is it the thing the action is done to? Is it receiving something (to / for)? Is it a tool or a companion (with)? Is it a place (in / on) or a topic (about)? Is it “of”, missing, or counted? nonononono yesyesyesyesyesyes Nominative Accusative Dative Instrumental Prepositional Genitive
Work down the list until you hit a “yes”. Prepositions come first, though: if one is present, its case wins.

Prepositions decide the case

A preposition is a small word like “in”, “from” or “with”. In Russian, each preposition always takes a particular case, so when you learn a preposition, learn its case with it.

PrepositionMeaningCaseExample
в in (location) Prepositional
в to, into (direction) Accusative
на on, at (location) Prepositional
о about Prepositional
из from (out of) Genitive
у by, at someone’s Genitive
без without Genitive
к towards Dative
по along, by Dative
с with (together) Instrumental

Notice в and на: they take the prepositional for location (в Москве́, “in Moscow”) but the accusative for direction (в Москву́, “to Moscow”). The case shows whether you’re there or going there.

Summary: every singular ending in one table

Bookmark this. The column headers show the dictionary form; each row shows how it changes. Plurals have their own guide.

CaseMasculine · столFeminine · кни́гаNeuter · окно́
Nominative столкни́гаокно́
Accusative столкни́гуокно́
Prepositional о столе́о кни́геоб окне́
Genitive стола́кни́гиокна́
Dative столу́кни́геокну́
Instrumental столо́мкни́гойокно́м

Soft nouns: same cases, different letters

The endings above are for hard nouns. Nouns ending in -й, -я, -ь or -е are called soft. They follow exactly the same pattern, but use the soft partner of each vowel: а → я, у → ю, ы → и, о → е. If you know the hard endings, you already know these.

CaseMasc. · музе́й (museum)Fem. · неде́ля (week)Fem. · тетра́дь (notebook)Neut. · мо́ре (sea)
Nominative музе́йнеде́лятетра́дьмо́ре
Genitive музе́янеде́литетра́димо́ря
Dative музе́юнеде́лететра́димо́рю
Accusative музе́йнеде́лютетра́дьмо́ре
Instrumental музе́емнеде́лейтетра́дьюмо́рем
Prepositional о музе́ео неде́лео тетра́дио мо́ре
Tip: feminine nouns ending in -ь, like тетра́дь, are their own small group. They take -и in the genitive, dative and prepositional, and -ью in the instrumental. Masculine nouns ending in -ь, like день (day), follow музе́й instead.

People and animals: the animate accusative

Here’s a rule that surprises learners. When the object of a verb is a masculine person or animal (called animate), the accusative doesn’t look like the nominative. It borrows the genitive ending instead.

INANIMATE · A THING Я ви́жу стол. I see the table. стол → стол: no change ANIMATE · A PERSON Я ви́жу бра́та. I see (my) brother. брат → бра́та: like the genitive
Same verb, same case. The only difference is whether the object is alive.
This affects masculine nouns in the singular, and all animate nouns in the plural: Я ви́жу сестёр, “I see (my) sisters”. Feminine singular nouns are unaffected: they already change -а to -у (Я ви́жу сестру́).

Two spelling rules that change endings

Some endings look irregular, but they’re just Russian spelling rules. Certain letters can’t be followed by certain vowels, so the vowel swaps. These two rules explain almost every “exception” you’ll meet in case endings.

The 7-letter rule г к х ж ш ч щ + и, ы After these seven letters, Russian never writes ы. It writes и instead. That’s why the genitive of кни́га is кни́ги, not “кни́гы”.
The 5-letter rule ж ш ч щ ц + е when unstressed After these five letters, an unstressed о becomes е. So the instrumental of муж (husband) is му́жем, but врач (doctor), stressed on the ending, keeps врачо́м.

Pronouns in every case

Pronouns (I, you, he…) change too, and you’ll use them constantly, so this table is worth learning by heart. The forms are irregular, but you’ve already met several: меня́ in Меня́ зову́т, мне in Мне нра́вится.

CaseIyouhe / itsheweyou (pl.)they
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Instrumental
Prepositional
The н- rule: after a preposition, the “he / she / they” forms add an н- at the start: его́ → у него́ (he has), ей → с ней (with her), им → к ним (to them). It makes them easier to say.

Adjectives follow their noun’s case

An adjective is a describing word, like “new” or “big”. In Russian, it takes the same case, gender and number as the noun it describes, so each case has adjective endings too. Here’s но́вый, “new”, with each gender:

CaseMasculine · столFeminine · кни́гаNeuter · окно́
Nominative но́выйно́ваяно́вое
Genitive но́вогоно́войно́вого
Dative но́вомуно́войно́вому
Accusative но́вый / -ого*но́вуюно́вое
Instrumental но́вымно́войно́вым
Prepositional о но́вомо но́войо но́вом
* People and animals: when a masculine noun is animate (a person or animal), its adjective takes -ого in the accusative too: Я ви́жу но́вого врача́, “I see the new doctor”. With things, it stays но́вый: Я ви́жу но́вый стол.

Pronunciation catch: the ending -ого is spelled with г but said with a v: но́вого is “NO-va-va”. The same is true of его́ (“yi-VO”) and сего́дня (“si-VOD-nya”, today).

The plural in every case

The plural has the same six cases. The good news: in the dative, instrumental and prepositional, every gender takes the same ending: -ам, -ами, -ах. The tricky one is the genitive plural, explained below.

CaseMasculine · столFeminine · кни́гаNeuter · окно́
Nominative столы́кни́гио́кна
Genitive столо́вкниго́кон
Dative стола́мкни́гамо́кнам
Accusative столы́кни́гио́кна
Instrumental стола́микни́гамио́кнами
Prepositional о стола́хо кни́гахоб о́кнах
More noun types in the plural
Caseслова́рьmasc. softгеро́йmasc. in -йнеде́ляfem. softтетра́дьfem. in -ьмо́реneut. soft
Nominative словари́геро́инеде́литетра́диморя́
Genitive словаре́йгеро́евнеде́льтетра́дейморе́й
Dative словаря́мгеро́ямнеде́лямтетра́дямморя́м
Accusative словари́геро́евнеде́литетра́диморя́
Instrumental словаря́мигеро́яминеде́лямитетра́дямиморя́ми
Prepositional о словаря́хо геро́яхо неде́ляхо тетра́дяхо моря́х

Soft nouns swap the hard vowels for soft ones (-ям, -ями, -ях). For people and animals the accusative plural copies the genitive plural: Я ви́жу студе́нтов, “I see the students”.

The genitive plural: three endings

The genitive plural is used after numbers from five up, after мно́го (many), ско́лько (how many) and нет (there are no). Its ending depends on how the word ends in the nominative singular.

-ов / -евMasculine nouns ending in a hard consonant (-ов) or -й (-ев).
After ц, -ев when unstressed: ме́сяц → ме́сяцев (months).
“zero”Feminine -а/-я and neuter -о: drop the vowel and add nothing. A vowel о or е is often inserted to ease pronunciation.
Feminine -ия and neuter -ие end in -ий: ста́нция → ста́нций, зда́ние → зда́ний.
-ейNouns ending in -ь (both genders), and masculine nouns in ж, ш, ч, щ.
Common irregulars: друг → друзе́й, ребёнок → дете́й, челове́к → люде́й.

Numbers decide the case of the noun

After a number, the noun takes one of three forms. Only the last digit of the number matters: 21 behaves like 1, 34 like 4, 25 like 5. The exceptions are 11 to 14, which always behave like 5.

1 · 21 · 31 …2–4 · 22–24 …5–20 · 25–30 · 11–14 одна́ кни́гадве кни́гипять книг ad-NA KNEE-gadvye KNEE-gipyat’ kneeknominative singulargenitive singulargenitive pluralone booktwo booksfive books
оди́н and два change for gender: оди́н стол, одна́ кни́га, одно́ окно́; два стола́, две кни́ги.
Numberгод · yearрубль · roubleмину́та · minuteчелове́к · person
1, 21, 101
2, 3, 4
22, 33, 44
5 – 20
11, 12, 13, 14
мно́го · ско́лько

Two irregulars: after 5 and up, год becomes лет (пять лет, five years) and челове́к stays челове́к (пять челове́к), while люде́й is used after мно́го and ско́лько.

Adjectives between a number and a noun
When the whole phrase is in another case

The 1 / 2–4 / 5+ rule only applies when the number itself is in the nominative or accusative. After a preposition or a verb that needs another case, the number and the noun both take that case, and the noun goes plural.

All number forms in every case are in the numbers guide.

One word, one sentence, every case

Here is Москва́ (Moscow) used naturally in each case. Read them in order and listen to how only the ending changes.

Check yourself

Put the word in brackets into the right case. Say your answer out loud, then reveal it.

1 Я чита́ю (газе́та).I’m reading a newspaper.
2 Мы живём в (Росси́я).We live in Russia.
3 Я звоню́ (па́па).I’m calling Dad.
4 Чай с (молоко́).Tea with milk.
5 У меня́ нет (вре́мя).I don’t have time.
6 Я ви́жу (кот).I see the cat.
Where to go next
GrammarNoun gender Every ending above depends on gender. Learn to tell masculine, feminine and neuter apart at a glance. GrammarPlural endings in every case The same six cases, now for more than one thing, in one table. PhrasesIntroducing yourself in Russian See the accusative (меня́) and genitive (из Ло́ндона) in your very first conversation.