Russian Nouns

Noun Gender and Number

In this lesson you will learn about three genders, as well as plural and singular forms of Russian nouns.

The Cases of Russian Nouns at a Glance

The Russian "ear" is very sensitive to the endings of nouns. This lesson will introduce you into the six cases of a noun. Cases show what role nouns play in the sentence and set the rules of choosing correct endings.

The Nominative Case

Lesson on the usage of the initial form of Russian nouns. It is also called the dictionary form because all dictionary entries for Russian nouns appear in the nominative.

The Declension of Singular Nouns

Learn how Russian nouns change by case and number.

Usage of Cases

In Russian, it is the case of a noun that shows what role the noun plays in a sentence. The table below shows how the noun "Алексей" (a male name) changes by cases.

Russian Suffixes

A suffix is usually a group of letters which goes at the end of a word and carries new meaning. This lesson teaches some more common suffixes of Russian nouns. Being able to spot suffixes will help you to work out the meanings of many Russian nouns.

The Prepositional Case

Nouns get the prepositional case when you use them to designate a place, time, or an object of thought. This lesson will teach you how to use and form the prepositional in Russian.

The Instrumental Case

It is easy to remember that the instrumental is used to describe the instrument by which an action is performed. This lesson will teach you how to use and form the instrumental case of Russian nouns.

The Accusative Case

The accusative is used to talk about a person or thing to whom or which and action is being done. In this lesson you will learn everything you will need to use the accusative of Russian nouns correctly.

The Dative Case

The principal meaning of the dative case is "to" or "for". It is used to show that something is given or addressed to someone or something.

The Genitive Case

The principal meaning of the genitive case is "of". However Russians do not use "of" in itself and put nouns into the genitive instead. In this lesson you will learn how to use the genitive of Russian nouns.