Language/Russian/Grammar/Noun-Adjective-Agreement
As a teacher of the Russian language for over 20 years, I have noticed that one of the most challenging aspects of Russian grammar for learners is the concept of noun-adjective agreement. In this lesson, we will explore how adjectives agree with nouns in gender, number, and case, which is essential to mastering the Russian language.
Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: How to Use be & Кое То Нибудь.
Understanding Noun-Adjective Agreement
In Russian, an adjective must agree with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case. This means that the ending of the adjective changes depending on the noun's gender, number, and case. For example:
- красивый дом (krasivyy dom) - beautiful house (masculine, singular, nominative case)
- красивая книга (krasivaya kniga) - beautiful book (feminine, singular, nominative case)
- красивое облако (krasivoye oblako) - beautiful cloud (neuter, singular, nominative case)
- красивые дома (krasivye doma) - beautiful houses (masculine or feminine plural, nominative case)
As you can see, the endings of the adjectives change to match the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify.
Endings of Adjectives
To correctly modify nouns with adjectives in Russian, you must understand the different endings that adjectives can take depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun. Below is a table of the nine different endings that adjectives can take for masculine, feminine, and neuter genders in the nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental, and prepositional cases:
| Gender | Case | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Nominative | -ый/-ой | большой дом (bolshoy dom) |
| -ий/-ой | темный лес (temnyy les) | ||
| -ой/-ий | зеленый зонтик (zelenyy zontik) | ||
| -ь/-й | новый год (novy god) | ||
| -й/-ый | хороший друг (horoshiy drug) | ||
| -ой/-ый | русский язык (russkiy yazyk) | ||
| Feminine | Nominative | -ая/-яя/-ья | красивая машина (krasivaya mashina) |
| -яя | зеленая трава (zelenaya trava) | ||
| -ья/-ая | небольшая квартира (nebolshaya kvartira) | ||
| -aя | большая книга (bolshaya kniga) | ||
| -a/-я | молодая учительница (molodaya uchitelnitsa) | ||
| -ая/-яя/-ья | русская девушка (russkaya devushka) | ||
| Neuter | Nominative | -oe/-ее | маленькое озеро (malenkoye ozero) |
| -ье/-ое | грязное окно (gryaznoye okno) | ||
| -ее | белое облако (beloye oblako) | ||
| -о/-е | большое здание (bolshoye zdanie) | ||
| -е/-ье/-ое | новое платье (novoye platye) | ||
| -oe/-ее | русское письмо (russkoye pis'mo) |
Remember that when you are modifying a noun with an adjective, you must use the correct ending for the gender, number, and case of the noun. Memorizing the endings for each case will help you greatly in your Russian studies.
Practice with Noun-Adjective Agreement
To practice your skills in noun-adjective agreement, try the following exercises:
- Create a table with five adjectives and nouns in different cases.
- Write three sentences in Russian, each highlighting a different adjective-noun agreement combination.
- Ask a friend or classmate to give you different nouns in different cases and practice modifying them with adjectives.
Sources
- Russian Grammar: What is Noun-Adjective Agreement?
- Russian Adjectives
- Russian Adjectives: A Simple Guide – StoryLearning
Videos
Beginning Russian: Adjectives. Adjective-Noun Agreement - YouTube
Other Lessons
- Noun Cases Overview
- Порядок слов в русском предложении
- To and же particles in Russian
- Perfective Imperfective
- Nominative Case
- А vs Но
- Instrumental Case
- The verb to be
- Present Tense
- Sentense Structure