The Russian genitive case.

When to use the genitive case

The genitive has more triggers than any other Russian case. Here are the main ones, roughly ordered by how often you'll hit them.

1. Possession

Russian has no word for "'s." Instead, the possessor goes into the genitive and follows the thing possessed.

• книга брата - the brother's book (lit. "book of brother")
• дом отца - father's house
• машина сестры - sister's car

2. Absence and negation (нет + genitive)

To say something doesn't exist or isn't present, Russian uses нет + genitive. This replaces "there is no" entirely.

• Нет воды. - There is no water.
• Нет времени. - There is no time.
• У меня нет машины. - I don't have a car. (lit. "at me there-is-no car-GEN")

3. After numbers

Russian numbers trigger the genitive in a pattern that trips up every learner:

• 2, 3, 4 + genitive singular: два стола (two tables), три книги (three books)
• 5–20, and round tens + genitive plural: пять столов (five tables), десять книг (ten books)
• 21 resets to nominative singular (двадцать один стол), 22–24 use genitive singular again, and so on

4. After prepositions

A large group of common prepositions demand the genitive:

• из - from, out of (из Москвы - from Moscow)
• от - from (a person/source) (от брата - from the brother)
• без - without (без сахара - without sugar)
• для - for (для мамы - for mom)
• у - at, by, "have" (у стола - by the table; у меня - I have)
• до - until, before, up to (до утра - until morning)
• после - after (после обеда - after lunch)
• около - near, around (около дома - near the house)

5. Partitive genitive (quantities)

When you take some of a larger whole, the "whole" goes into genitive:

• чашка чая - a cup of tea
• кусок хлеба - a piece of bread
• много работы - a lot of work

6. Comparison

After comparatives, the thing being compared to takes the genitive:

• больше брата - bigger than the brother
• старше сестры - older than the sister

Genitive noun endings

Here's how nouns change in the genitive case. The singular is relatively straightforward; the plural is where the real complexity lives.

The zero ending in genitive plural. This is the pattern that catches learners off guard. Feminine nouns ending in -а simply drop the -а and have no ending at all: книга → книг, рука → рук, сестра → сестёр (with a fleeting vowel). This "zero ending" feels unnatural to English speakers, who expect something to be added, not removed.

Pronoun forms in the genitive

Personal pronouns have their own genitive forms. Note that его, её, их are the same in genitive and accusative - and they gain a н- prefix after prepositions (у него, от неё, для них).

Example sentences

Real genitive usage across different triggers. Pay attention to the endings.

Common pitfalls

These are the mistakes that trip up learners most often with the genitive case.

• Animate accusative = genitive. For animate masculine nouns, the accusative looks identical to the genitive: "Я вижу брата" (I see the brother) uses the same form as "книга брата" (brother's book). This is not the genitive - it's the accusative borrowing the genitive form. The grammar is different, even though the ending is the same.
• Genitive plural irregulars. The genitive plural has more irregular forms than any other case. Watch for: человек (person) → людей, ребёнок (child) → детей, друг (friend) → друзей, глаз (eye) → глаз (zero ending on a masculine noun!).
• Fleeting vowels. Some nouns insert or remove a vowel in genitive plural: сестра → сестёр, окно → окон, письмо → писем. There's no simple rule - you learn these by exposure.
• Genitive after negated verbs. In formal Russian, direct objects of negated verbs take the genitive instead of the accusative: "Я не читал этой книги" instead of "Я не читал эту книгу." In modern spoken Russian, the accusative is often used instead, but you'll see the genitive in writing.