Language/Belarusian/Grammar/Nouns

Belarusian Grammar - Nouns

Hi Belarusian learners! 😊
In today's lesson, we will be discussing the basics of Belarusian nouns. We will cover topics such as gender, number, and case. By the end of this lesson, you will have a better understanding of how to use nouns in Belarusian.

Gender

Nouns in Belarusian can be either masculine, feminine, or neuter. To determine the gender of a noun, you must look at the ending of the word.

Masculine

Masculine nouns typically end in -a, -u, -y, -i, -o, -ě, -ŭ, or -ń.

Examples:

• дзекун (desk)
• бацька (father)
• друг (friend)

Feminine

Feminine nouns typically end in -a, -я, -ь, -и, -ы, -э, -у, or -ю.

Examples:

• мама (mother)
• кніга (book)
• дароўна (gift)

Neuter

Neuter nouns typically end in -o, -e, -ě, -ę, -ė, -į, -ą, or -ų.

Examples:

• месца (place)
• дзеркала (mirror)
• падзем'е (underground)

Number

Nouns in Belarusian can be singular or plural. To form the plural of a noun, you must add the appropriate ending.

Singular

Singular nouns typically end in -a, -u, -y, -i, -o, -ě, -ŭ, -a, -я, -ь, -и, -ы, -э, -у, -o, -e, -ě, -ę, -ė, -į, -ą, or -ų.

Examples:

• дзекун (desk)
• мама (mother)
• месца (place)

Plural

Plural nouns typically end in -ы, -і, -оў, -аў, -яў, -ёў, -у, -ю, -ей, -ёй, -ай, -о́й, -ы́, -і́, -а́, or -я́.

Examples:

• дзекуны (desks)
• мамы (mothers)
• месцы (places)

Case

Nouns in Belarusian can be in one of seven cases. The cases are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, and vocative.

Nominative

The nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence. It is also used for the predicate noun.

Examples:

• Дзекун стаў на сталіцу. (The desk stood on the table.)
• Мама прачытала кнігу. (Mother read the book.)
• Месца было прыкладнае. (The place was convenient.)

Genitive

The genitive case is used to indicate possession.

Examples:

• Дзекун бацькі. (Father's desk.)
• Мамы дароўны. (Mother's gift.)
• Месца друга. (Friend's place.)

Dative

The dative case is used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence.

Examples:

• Я дарую дзекуну бацьку. (I give the desk to father.)
• Я дарую маме дароўну. (I give the gift to mother.)
• Я дарую другу месца. (I give the place to friend.)

Accusative

The accusative case is used to indicate the direct object of a sentence.

Examples:

• Я бачу дзекун. (I see the desk.)
• Я бачу маму. (I see the mother.)
• Я бачу месца. (I see the place.)

Instrumental

The instrumental case is used to indicate the means by which an action is done.

Examples:

• Я пішоў дзекунам. (I went by desk.)
• Я пішоў мамай. (I went by mother.)
• Я пішоў месцам. (I went by place.)

Locative

The locative case is used to indicate the location of an action.

Examples:

• Я сядзю на дзекуне. (I sit on the desk.)
• Я сядзю на маме. (I sit on the mother.)
• Я сядзю на месцы. (I sit on the place.)

Vocative

The vocative case is used to address someone directly.

Examples:

• Дзекун! (Desk!)
• Мама! (Mother!)
• Месца! (Place!)

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Related Lessons

• Possession
• Prepositions
• Negation
• Adjectives
• Future Tense
• Questions
• Adverbs
• Conditional Mood
• Pronouns