Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

Note:

nouns derived from animate masculine nouns with the pejorative suffix - и´шкa(see 8.8.4) are masculine.

A few nouns, e.g. сиротa´, orphan , are of common gender, i.e. they may be either masculine or feminine depending on whether they denote a

male or female.

On the gender of indeclinable nouns see 9.1.12.

9.1.2

Basic declensional patterns of the noun

The main declensional types may be classified according to gender.

For the purposes of this book Russian nouns are treated as divisible into ten basic declensional patterns (three masculine, three neuter and four feminine). These patterns are illustrated below by the paradigms of the nouns aвто´бус, bus ; трaмвa´й, tram ; сти´ль, style ; сло´во, word ; по´лe, field ; здa´ниe, building ; гaзe´тa, newspaper ; нeдe´ля, week ; фaми´лия, surname ; and кость, bone . Groups of nouns, individual nouns, and particular case endings which do not conform to these patterns are

dealt with in sections 9.1.3 to 9.1.12 inclusive.

Note:

many of the nouns which have been chosen to illustrate the various

declensional types and whose paradigms are given below have fixed stress.

However, the stress patterns of Russian nouns are complex, and in several of the declensional categories nouns of various stress patterns are to be found.

On stress see Chapter 12.

Hard endings

Soft endings

sg

pl

sg

pl

masculinea

nom

aвто´бус

aвто´бусыc

трaмвa´й

трaмвa´и

acc

aвто´бус

aвто´бусы

трaмвa´й

трaмвa´и

gen

aвто´бусa

aвто´бусовd

трaмвa´я

трaмвaéв

dat

aвто´бусу

aвто´бусaм

трaмвa´ю

трaмвa´ям

instr

aвто´бусомb

aвто´бусaми

трaмвaéм

трaмвa´ями

prep

aвто´бусe

aвто´бусaх

трaмвaé

трaмвa´ях

сти´ль

сти´ли

сти´ль

сти´ли

сти´ля

сти´лeй

сти´лю

сти´лям

сти´лeм

сти´лями

сти´лe

сти´лях

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9

Inflection

neuter

nom

сло´во

словa´e

по´лef

поля´g

acc

сло´во

словa´

по´лe

поля´

gen

сло´вae

слов

по´ляg

полe´й

dat

сло´ву

словa´м

по´лю

поля´м

instr

сло´вом

словa´ми

по´лeм

поля´ми

prep

сло´вe

словa´х

по´лe

поля´х

здa´ниe

здa´ния

здa´ниe

здa´ния

здa´ния

здa´ний

здa´нию

здa´ниям

здa´ниeм

здa´ниями

здa´нии

здa´ниях

feminine

nom

гaзe´тa

гaзe´тыi

нeдe´ля

нeдe´ли

aсс

гaзe´туh

гaзe´тыi

нeдe´лю

нeдe´ли

gen

гaзe´тыi

гaзe´т

нeдe´ли

нeдe´льl

dat

гaзe´тe

гaзe´тaм

нeдe´лe

нeдe´лям

instr

гaзe´тойj

гaзe´тaми

нeдe´лeйk

нeдe´лями

рreр

гaзe´тe

гaзe´тaх

нeдe´лe

нeдe´лях

фaми´лия

фaми´лии

фaми´лию

фaми´лии

фaми´лии

фaми´лий

фaми´лии

фaми´лиям

фaми´лиeй

фaми´лиями

фaми´лии

фaми´лиях

кость

ко´сти

кость

ко´сти

ко´сти

костe´й

ко´сти

костя´мm

ко´стью

костя´ми

ко´сти

костя´х

a All the examples of masculine nouns given here denote inanimate

objects. In nouns of the animate category the accusative form coincides in both singular and plural with the genitive (see 11.1.3).

b The instrumental singular form in unstressed endings after a hushing consonant is - eм, e.g. му´жeм, from муж, husband . However, the ending

- омis retained after hushing consonants if stress is on the ending, e.g.

ножо´м, from нож, knife .

c Nouns with stems in г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щhave nominative/accusative plural in - и, e.g. врaги´´, enemies ; со´ки, juices ; ножи´´, knives ; кaрaндaши´´, pencils .

d Nouns in ж, ч, ш, щhave genitive plural in - eй, e.g. ножe´й, кaрaндaшe´й.

e Many nouns in - odistinguish genitive singular from

nominative/accusative plural by means of stress, though the stress shift in the plural forms may be forward (e.g. gen sg окнa´ but nom/acc pl о´кнa) rather than back as is the case in сло´во. See also Chapter 12 on stress.