Language/Russian/Grammar/Russian-cases

Cases in Russian

Hi Russian learners,

There are 6 cases in Russian.

They give all the possible endings of words for all the functions they can have in the sentence, according to their genre and according to their number.

Nominative Case

The nominative case answers the questions кто/что, meaning who/what, and identifies the subject of a sentence. The nominative case exists in English, too.

In Russian dictionaries, all nouns are given in the nominative case.

Examples:

• Наташа сказала, что приедет попозже.
• Translation: Natasha said that she would come over later.

• Собака бежала по улице, виляя хвостом.
• Translation: The dog was running down the street, wagging its tail.

Genitive Case

The genitive case answers the questions кого, meaning "whom" or "of whom," and чего, which means "what" or "of what." It shows possession, attribution, or absence (who, what, whose, or what/who is absent).

It also answers the question откуда —from where.

Examples:

• У меня нет ни тетради, ни ручки.
• I have neither a notebook nor a pen.

тетрадь - "a notebook" - becomes тетради - (absence of) a notebook ручка - "a pen" - becomes ручки - (absence of) a pen

• Я достала из сумки книгу.
• I took out a book out of the bag.

сумка (SOOMka) - "a bag" - becomes сумки - out of the bag.

Dative Case

The dative case answers the questions кому/чему – to whom/(to) what, and shows that something is given or addressed to the object.

Examples:

• Я повернулся к человеку, который стоял справа от меня.
• I turned to the person/man who was standing on my right.

человек (chelaVYEK) - "a man/a person" becomes человеку - "to a man/to a person."

Accusative Case

The accusative case answers the questions кого/что – whom/what, and куда – where.

Its equivalent in English is the accusative, or objective, case (him, her).

Examples:

• Я покупаю новый телефон.
• I am buying a new phone.

телефон - "a phone" - remains the same.

• Какую книгу ты сейчас читаешь?
• Translation: What book are you reading right now?

Instrumental Case

Answers the questions кем/чем – with whom/with what.

This case shows which instrument is used to do or make something, or with whom/with the help of what an action is completed. It can also be used to talk about something that you are interested in.

Example:

• Иван интересуется китайской культурой.
• Ivan is interested in Chinese culture.

Prepositional Case

Answers the questions о ком/о чем – about whom/about what, and the question где – where.

Example:

• Я постараюсь проснуться на рассвете.
• Translation: I will try to wake up at dawn.

Other examples

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NOMINATIVE (OBJECTIVE)

Word is in the beginning of the phrase, simple phrase. The object that does something

Palavra no início da frase, frase simple

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ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
The student  reads	ou cheh nihk chih tah iht	YЧEHИK ЧИTAET	u tche ník  tchi ta ít	O aluno  lê
The guide paid  yesterday	giht fcheh rah zah plah tihl	ГИД ВЧЕРА  ЗAПЛATИЛ	guít  ftche rá   za pla tíL	O guia  pagou  ontem
The shop   is  open	mah gah zihn   aht kruh tih	MAГAЗИH   OTKPЫTЫЙ	ma ga zín   at krâ ti	A  loja  está   aberta

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DATIVE

For  (something)  or  (somebody)

Para  (alguma coisa) ou (alguem)

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ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
For one house	kuh ahd nah mou doh mou	К ОДНОМУ ДОМУ	kâ adnamú dômu	para uma casa
For the house	kuh dah mou	К  ДОМУ	kâ damú	para a casa
For some houses	kuh nih kah tah rah mou doh mou	К НЕКОТОРОМУ ДОМУ	kâ nikataramú dômu	para algumas casas
For the houses	kuh doh mahm	К ДОМАМ	kâ dômam	para as casas
For one man	kuh ahd nah mou tchih lah vyeh kou	К ОДНОМУ ЧЕЛОВЕКУ	kâ adnamú tchilaviêku	para um homem
For the man	kuh chih lah vyeh kou	К ЧЕЛОВЕКУ	kâ tchilaviêku	para o homem
For some men	kuh nih kah tah rah mou mouh zhih chih nahm	К НЕКОТОРОМУ МУЖЧИНАМ	kâ nikataramú mujitchinám	para alguns homens
For the men	kuh mouh zhih chih nahm	К МУЖЧИНАМ	kâ mujitchinam	para os homens
I WILL  GO TO  THE BEACH	yah pie dou kuh   plyah zhou	Я ПОЙДУ  К  ПЛЯЖУ	iá paidú  kâ  pliajú	EU IREI  À  PRAIA

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ACCUSATIVE

Somebody or something at the  end of the phrase

Alguém ou alguma coisa no final da frase

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ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
DID YOU SEE THIS  LUGGAGE ?	vuh vih dyeh lih eh taht bah gahsh ?	ВЫ ВИДЕЛИ ЭТОТ БАГАЖ ?	vâ vi diê li  etát ba gash ?	VOCÊ  VIU ESSA BAGAGEM ?
I SEE  THE CAR	yah vih zhouh mah shih nou	Я ВИЖУ МАШИНУ	iá vijú machinú	EU VEJO O CARRO
I WANT THE APPLE	yah  Hah chou yah bloh kah	Я ХОЧУ ЯБЛОКО	iá  Ha tchú ia blô ka	EU QUERO  A MAÇÃ

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GENITIVE

of the

de, da, dos, das

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ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
the key	klyouh chih	КЛЮЧ	klíu tch	a chave
the house	dohm	ДОМ	dom	a casa
the key of the house	klyouh chih ot doh mah	КЛЮЧ ОТ ДОМА	klíutch ot dô má	a chave da casa
the window	ahk noh	ОКНО	ah nó	a janela
the school	shkoh lah	ШКОЛА	ch kô la	a escola
the window of the school	ahk noh shkoh lih	ОКНО ШКОЛЫ	ak nô ch kô li	a janela da escola
the name	ih myah (naz va ni je)	ИМЯ (НАЗВАНИЕ)	i miá (naz va ni je)	o nome
the place	myehs toh	МЕСТО	mies to	o lugar
the name of the place	(ih myah) naz va ni je myehs tah	(ИМЯ) НАЗВАНИЕ МЕСТА	(ímia) naz va ni je míesta	o nome do lugar
The bottle of water	bou tihl kah vah dih	БУТЫЛКА ВОДЫ	bu tíL ka va dí	A garrafa de água
The juice of  orange	sohk ah pyehl sih nah	СОК АПЕЛЬСИНА	sôk a piêL ci na	O suco  de laranja
The map of China	kahr tah kih tah yah	КАРТА КИТАЯ	kár ta ki tá ia	O mapa  da  China

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GENITIVE

from (point of origin in the space or time); made of (something)

de, da, dos, das (ponto de origem no espaço ou tempo),

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ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
I came  from Brazil	yah prih yeh Hahl ihz brah zee lih	Я ПРИЕХАЛ ИЗ БРАЗИЛИИ	iá pri iê HaL iz bra zi lii	Eu vim do Brasil
We are from Turkey	muh ihz tour tsee	МЫ ИЗ ТУРЦИИ	mâ iz túr tsii	Nós somos da Turquia

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INSTRUMENTAL

¨with¨ somebody or ¨with¨ something

¨com¨ alguém ou ¨com¨ alguma coisa

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ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
I write with my pen	yah pih mah eem kah rahn dah shohm	Я ПИШУ МОИМ КАРАНДАШОМ	iá pi chú ma iim ka ran dá chom	Eu escrevo com meu lápis

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INSTRUMENTAL (INCLUSIVE)

Use to mix  some  products.

Use para misturar alguns produtos

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ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
Coffee  with milk	koh fyeh  s mah lah kohm	КОФЕ  С МОЛОКОМ	kôfie s ma la kôm	Café com leite
Coffee  with sugar	koh fyeh s sah Hah rohm	КОФЕ С САХАРОМ	kôfie  s sa Ha rôm	Café  com  açúcar
Water  with ice	vah dah sah lih dohm	ВОДА  СО ЛЬДОМ	va dá sa li dôm	Água com gelo

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PREPOSITIONAL (LOCATIVE)

It shows the localization (is used after prepositions "in", "on", "at"). And it is also used after preposition "about" - about somebody, about something

Mostra a localização (no, na, em)

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ENGLISH	PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH	RUSSIAN	PRONUNCIATION BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE	BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
It is in her bag	eh tah nah Hah dih tsah  v jejo eyh  soum kyeh	ЭТО НАХОДИТСЯ В ЕЁ СУМКЕ	é ta na Ha dí tsa v jejo sum kíê	Isso está  na bolsa dela
on the   street	nah  ou lih tseh	НА УЛИЦЕ	na u lí tse	na rua
In the  cars	v mah shih nahH	В МАШИНАХ	v ma chi náH	Nos carros