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Nouns & gender
Three genders, and the ending usually tells you which.
| ending | gender | example |
|---|---|---|
| consonant | masculine | стол, дом, брат |
| -а / -я | feminine | кни́га, неде́ля |
| -о / -е | neuter | окно́, мо́ре |
| -ь | either — learn it | день (m), крова́ть (f) |
The -ь words are the problem. There is no rule, and about two thirds are feminine. Dictionaries mark them and you memorise them.
The six cases
Every noun has twelve forms — six cases, singular and plural. This is the shape of the whole language, and everything else in these chapters depends on it.
| case | does what | example |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | the subject | Брат чита́ет. |
| accusative | the direct object | Я ви́жу бра́та. |
| genitive | of, possession, after negation and numbers | кни́га бра́та |
| dative | to, the receiver, the experiencer | Я дал бра́ту. |
| instrumental | by means of, with | Я пишу́ ручкой. |
| prepositional | only after certain prepositions | Я ду́маю о бра́те. |
Adjectives, pronouns and numbers agree with all of it. Мой ста́рший брат becomes моего́ ста́ршего бра́та, three words changing together.
Animacy
Masculine nouns split by whether they are alive. For an animate noun the accusative copies the GENITIVE; for an inanimate one it copies the nominative.
- Я ви́жу стол. — I see a table. (nominative-shaped)
- Я ви́жу бра́та. — I see a brother. (genitive-shaped)
Russian grammar cares whether a thing can act.
Diminutives
Russian shrinks almost any noun, and it is not about size. Ко́фе becomes ко́фейку, чай becomes ча́ёк, a name like Ива́н becomes Ва́ня, Ване́чка, Ваню́ша. It marks affection, informality or a small ask, and getting it right is one of the last things a learner acquires.
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