Language/Belarusian/Grammar/Cases

Belarusian Grammar → Nouns → Cases

Belarusian is an Eastern Slavic language spoken mainly in Belarus. In this lesson, we'll be exploring the different cases used in Belarusian. Cases are important in Belarusian grammar because they show the relationship between nouns in a sentence, indicating things like the subject, object or possessive form. There are six cases in Belarusian, and we'll look at each of them in turn.

Nominative case

The nominative case is used for the subject of the sentence, as well as for direct address. In general, when a noun is in its basic, dictionary form, it is in the nominative case.

For example:

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
яблыка	yablyka	apple (nominative singular)
бабуля	babulya	grandmother (nominative singular)
кава	kava	coffee (nominative singular)
кнігі	knigi	books (nominative plural)

Genitive case

The genitive case is used to show possession, as well as for certain prepositions. In general, to form the genitive case of a noun, you need to add "-а", "-я" or "-у" to the end of the nominative singular form.

For example:

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
каралеў	karaleyew	king's, of the king (genitive singular)
хаты	haty	house's, of the house (genitive plural)
зямлі	zyamli	earth's, of the earth (genitive singular)
кніг	knig	books (genitive plural)

Dative case

The dative case is used to show the indirect object of a sentence, as well as for certain prepositions. In general, to form the dative case of a noun, you need to add "-у" or "-ю" to the end of the nominative singular form.

For example:

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
сыну	synu	to the son (dative singular)
матцы	matchy	to the mother (dative singular)
дружбе	druzhbye	to the friend (dative singular)
кнігам	knigam	to the books (dative plural)

Accusative case

The accusative case is used for the direct object of a sentence, as well as after certain prepositions. In general, to form the accusative case of a noun, you need to add "-а" or "-я" to the end of the nominative singular form.

For example:

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
яблыка	yablyka	apple (accusative singular)
бабулю	babulyu	grandmother (accusative singular)
каву	kavu	coffee (accusative singular)
кнігі	knigi	books (accusative plural)

Instrumental case

The instrumental case is used to show the means by which something is done, as well as after certain prepositions. In general, to form the instrumental case of a noun, you need to add "-ам", "-ям" or "-ом" to the end of the nominative plural form.

For example:

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
ножамі	nozhawi	with knives (instrumental plural)
ключом	klyuchom	with a key (instrumental singular)
ручкамі	ruchkawi	with pens (instrumental plural)
кнігамі	knigami	with books (instrumental plural)

Locative case

The locative case is used to indicate location or place where, as well as after certain prepositions. In general, to form the locative case of a noun, you need to add "-е", "-у" or "-ы" to the end of the nominative singular or plural form.

For example:

Belarusian	Pronunciation	English
кафэ	kafo	in the cafe (locative singular)
магазыне	magazyne	in the shop (locative singular)
парку	parku	in the park (locative singular)
кнігах	knigakh	in the books (locative plural)

I hope this introduction to the cases in Belarusian has been helpful for you. Don't forget to practice and take your time with each case. Good luck!

Table of Contents - Belarusian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Basics

• Introducing Yourself
• Numbers and Time

  ---

Nouns

• Gender
• Cases
• Plurals

  ---

Family

• Family Members
• Family Events

  ---

Verbs

• Present Tense
• Infinitives
• Past Tense
• Imperative

  ---

Food

• Ingredients
• Traditional Dishes

  ---

Belarusian Holidays

• New Year's
• Kupalle

  ---

Adjectives

• Gender Agreement
• Comparatives
• Superlatives

  ---

Transportation

• Public Transportation
• Traveling by Car

  ---

Belarusian Folklore

• Belarusian Mythology
• Famous Folktales

  ---

Prepositions

• Locative Prepositions
• Prepositional Case

  ---

Environment

• Nature
• Climate
• National Symbols

Related Lessons

• Conditional Mood
• Comparatives
• How to Use Have
• Prepositional Case
• Possession
• Negation
• Plurals
• Pronouns
• Past Tense
• Prepositions