Russian Cases Practice
Russian has six cases that change the endings of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives. Master these cases to speak Russian correctly! 🔧If you can count to 6, that's something...🔧 Keep reading puny brain...
Click on each case tab below to see examples and practice. Hover over cards in practice mode to reveal answers.
🎯There is really no way around this, besides practice...lots of it...with vodka🥴
🎓 Quick Reference: Case Vibes Table
The idea to this is: say you want to say something like: "I'm massing my balls" or "The bitch is cooking dinner"...so you need to identify first in which case the sentence you want to say is, so that you can then "append" the available declensions to the noun.
| Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | Instrumental | Prepositional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 👤 Who / What (subject) | 🎯 Whom / What (object) | 📦 of something | 🎁 to someone | 🔧 with something | 📍 in/on/about |
The nominative case is the "dictionary form" and used for the subject of a sentence – the person or thing performing the action.
Common uses:
- 👤 Subject The person/thing doing the action
- 🔄 After "это" When making statements of identity (это стол = this is a table)
- 📋 Names When simply naming something
🥴 Quick Reference: It's about the person/entity doing something. No matter if one or many; and no matter what verb tense it is.
| Subject | Verb | Example Sentence (Russian) | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular (e.g., ChatGPT) | Present tense | ЧатГПТ помогает мне. | ChatGPT is helping me. |
| Singular (e.g., ChatGPT) | Past tense | ЧатГПТ помог мне. | ChatGPT helped me. |
| Singular (e.g., ChatGPT) | Future tense | ЧатГПТ поможет мне. | ChatGPT will help me. |
| Plural (e.g., ChatGPT twins) | Present tense | ЧатГПТ близнецы помогают мне. | The ChatGPT twins are helping me. |
| Plural (e.g., ChatGPT twins) | Past tense | ЧатГПТ близнецы помогли мне. | The ChatGPT twins helped me. |
| Plural (e.g., ChatGPT twins) | Future tense | ЧатГПТ близнецы помогут мне. | The ChatGPT twins will help me. |
| Gender/Type | Typical Endings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Consonant, -й, -ь | стол, музей, день |
| Feminine | -а, -я, -ь | книга, неделя, мышь |
| Neuter | -о, -е | окно, море |
| Plural (all genders) | -ы, -и, -а, -я | столы, музеи, окна, моря |
The genitive case is used to express possession, absence, and quantity.
Common uses:
- 👤 Possession To show ownership (книга студента = student's book)
- ❌ Absence With "нет" (у меня нет времени = I don't have time)
- 📊 Quantity After numbers 2-4 and many others
- 📐 Measurement With amounts (чашка чая = cup of tea)
- 🔄 After prepositions у, из, с, до, от, без, для, около
| Gender/Type | Typical Endings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine/Neuter Singular | -а, -я | стола, музея, окна, моря |
| Feminine Singular | -ы, -и | книги, недели |
| Plural (all genders) | -ов, -ев, -ей, -∅ (no ending) | столов, музеев, книг, окон |
The dative case is used for the indirect object – the recipient of an action.
Common uses:
- 🎁 Giving The person receiving something (я дал книгу другу = I gave a book to a friend)
- 🗣️ Telling The person being told (я сказал ей = I told her)
- 👍 Liking With "нравиться" (мне нравится = I like)
- 👴 Age Expressing age (мне 30 лет = I am 30 years old)
- 🔄 After prepositions к, по
| Gender/Type | Typical Endings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine/Neuter Singular | -у, -ю | столу, музею, окну, морю |
| Feminine Singular | -е, -и | книге, неделе, мыши |
| Plural (all genders) | -ам, -ям | столам, музеям, книгам, окнам |
The accusative case is used for the direct object – the person or thing receiving the action of the verb.
Common uses:
- 🎯 Direct object The thing being acted upon (я читаю книгу = I am reading a book)
- ⏱️ Time expressions For duration (всю неделю = all week)
- 🏃 Movement With motion verbs and prepositions (в, на)
- 💰 Price For costs (за 100 рублей = for 100 rubles)
| Gender/Type | Typical Endings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine Animate | Same as Genitive | я вижу студента |
| Masculine Inanimate | Same as Nominative | я вижу стол |
| Feminine | -у, -ю | книгу, неделю |
| Neuter | Same as Nominative | окно, море |
| Plural Animate | Same as Genitive Plural | я вижу студентов |
| Plural Inanimate | Same as Nominative Plural | я вижу столы |
The instrumental case is used to express means, instrument, or accompaniment.
Common uses:
- 🔧 Tool/Instrument Using something (писать ручкой = to write with a pen)
- 👥 With someone Accompaniment (с другом = with a friend)
- 🧑💼 Professions With быть/стать (он был врачом = he was a doctor)
- 🚆 Transport Travel methods (ехать поездом = to travel by train)
- 🔄 After prepositions с, за, между, под, над
| Gender/Type | Typical Endings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine/Neuter Singular | -ом, -ем | столом, музеем, окном, морем |
| Feminine Singular | -ой, -ей, -ью | столом, музеем, окном, морем |
| Feminine Singular | -ой, -ей, -ью | книгой, неделей, мышью |
| Plural (all genders) | -ами, -ями | столами, музеями, книгами, окнами |
The prepositional case is used after specific prepositions to indicate location or topic.
Common uses:
- 📍 Location Where something is (в Москве = in Moscow)
- 💬 Topic What is being discussed (о книге = about the book)
- 🔄 After prepositions в, на, о/об, при
| Gender/Type | Typical Endings | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine/Neuter Singular | -е | о столе, в музее, в окне, о море |
| Feminine Singular | -е, -и | о книге, о неделе, о мыши |
| Plural (all genders) | -ах, -ях | о столах, о музеях, о книгах, об окнах |