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Russian cases cheat sheet.

All 6 cases on one page - noun endings for masculine, feminine, and neuter, the prepositions that trigger each case, and example sentences. Print it, pin it, or save as PDF.

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Russian Cases - Quick Reference
All 6 cases · Noun endings (singular & plural) · Prepositions · Examples · slova.be

Noun endings by case

Case Question Masculineстол, конь Feminineкнига, дверь Neuterокно, море Pluralall genders
NominativeИм. кто? что? — / -ь -а / -я / -ь -о / -е -ы / -и / -а / -я
GenitiveРод. кого? чего? -а / -я -ы / -и -а / -я -ов / -ев / -ей / —Zero ending common for fem.
DativeДат. кому? чему? -у / -ю -е / -и -у / -ю -ам / -ям
AccusativeВин. кого? что? = Nom (inan.) / = Gen (anim.)Animate = Genitive -у / -ю / -ь -о / -е= Nominative = Nom (inan.) / = Gen (anim.)
InstrumentalТв. кем? чем? -ом / -ем -ой / -ей / -ью -ом / -ем -ами / -ями
PrepositionalПр. о ком? о чём? -е / -и -е / -и -е / -и -ах / -ях

Key prepositions by case

Genitive
из, от, без, для, у, до, после
from, from, without, for, at/by, until, after
Dative
к, по
toward, along/by/according to
Accusative
в (direction), на (direction), за, через
into, onto, behind/for, through/across
Instrumental
с, над, под, перед, между
with, above, under, in front of, between
Prepositional
в (location), на (location), о / об
in, on, about
Tip
в / на = two cases
Direction (куда?) = Accusative
Location (где?) = Prepositional

One example per case

Nominative
Мама читает книгу.
Mom is reading a book.
Genitive
Книга брата.
Brother's book. (possession)
Dative
Я дал книгу брату.
I gave the book to my brother.
Accusative
Я читаю книгу.
I'm reading a book.
Instrumental
Я пишу ручкой.
I'm writing with a pen.
Prepositional
Я живу в Москве.
I live in Moscow.

5 rules that cover 80% of cases

  • 1Subject = Nominative. Whoever does the action stays in dictionary form. Мама готовит.
  • 2Direct object = Accusative. Whoever receives the action. Я вижу книгу. But: animate masculine nouns borrow Genitive endings (Я вижу брата).
  • 3"Of" or "no" = Genitive. Possession (книга брата), absence (нет воды), after numbers 5+ (пять книг).
  • 4"To someone" = Dative. Indirect objects, age (мне 25 лет), feelings (мне холодно).
  • 5"In" or "on" + location = Prepositional. в школе, на работе. But direction to = Accusative: в школу, на работу.

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Go deeper on each case

Russian cases explained
Full guide to all 6 cases
›
Genitive case
Possession, absence, numbers
›
Accusative case
Direct objects, direction, time
›
Dative case
Indirect objects, age, feelings
›
Prepositional case
Location and topics
›
Instrumental case
Means, companion, professions
›

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