Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

f Nouns with stem in ж, ц, ч, ш, щhave endings with afor яand yfor ю; thus клa´дбищe, cemetery , has gen sg клa´дбищa, dat sg клa´дбищу, nom/acc pl клa´дбищa, dat/instr/prep pl клa´дбищaм, клa´дбищaми,

клa´дбищaх, respectively.

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9.1

Declension of the noun

g The same considerations of stress apply here as to сло´во (see note e above).

h Feminine nouns of the animate category have accusative forms that

coincide with the genitive in the plural only, e.g. acc pl жe´нщин, but acc sg жe´нщину.

i (a) Nouns with stems in г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щhave иfor ы, e.g. ногa´, leg , has gen sg ноги´, nom/acc pl но´ги. (b) Some nouns in - adistinguish genitive singular from nominative/accusative plural by means of stress shift, e.g. ноги´, но´ги (see notes e and g above).

j (i) The instrumental singular form in unstressed endings after a hushing consonant is - eй, e.g. больни´цeй, from больни´цa, hospital . However, the ending - ойis retained after hushing consonants if stress is on the ending, e.g. душо´й from душa´, soul. (ii) An instrumental singular form in - оюis also found (e.g. гaзe´тою), but in the modern language this form is used mainly in literary contexts or in poetry where the metre requires an additional syllable.

k An instrumental singular ending in - eюmay also be found, in the same circumstances as -ою (see note j (ii) above).

l The zero ending which occurs in the genitive plural forms of nouns in

- ais in effect retained, the soft sign merely serving to indicate that the consonant remains soft in this case just as it is when followed by any of the vowels used in the other endings of this declension.

m Nouns ending in - жь,- чь,- шь,- щьhave afor я, e.g. dat/instr/prep pl forms ночa´м, ночa´ми, ночa´х from ночь, night ; вeщa´м, вeщa´ми, вeщa´х, from вeщь, thing .

9.1.3

Mobile vowels

Many masculine nouns have a mobile vowel, i.e. oor eor ё, which is found in the last syllable of the nominative/accusative singular form but which disappears in all other cases, e.g.

nom/acc sg

gen sg

кусо´к, piece

кускa´

ого´нь, fire

огня´

вe´тeр, wind

вe´трa

дeнь, day

дня

козёл, goat

козлa´

шaтёр, tent

шaтрa´

Note 1

When a mobile efollows the letter лit must be replaced by ьin order to indicate that the лremains soft, e.g. лeв, lion , has gen sg львa.

2

The feminine nouns вошь, louse ; ложь, lie ; любо´вь, love , and рожь, rye , lose their oin all oblique cases except the instrumental singular. Thus любо´вь has gen/dat/prep sg любви´, but instr sg любо´вью.

9.1.4

Genitive singular forms in -у/-ю

r A small number of masculine nouns, including a few abstract nouns, may have genitive singular forms in - y(or - юif they have a soft stem).

These forms may be used when the genitive has partitive meaning (i.e.

when it denotes a quantity of sth), e.g.

купи´ть горо´ху, лу´ку, ри´су

to buy some peas, onions, rice

буты´лкa коньяку´, лимонa´ду

a bottle of brandy, lemonade

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9

Inflection

бa´нкa мёду

a jar of honey

достa´ть кeроси´ну, клe´ю, мe´лу,

to get some paraffin, glue, chalk,

миндaлю´, пe´рцу,

almonds, pepper ,

скипидa´ру, тёсу

turpentine, planks

мно´го нaро´ду, шу´му

a lot of people, noise

пa´чкa сa´xapy

a packet of sugar

кило´ сы´pу, чeсноку´

a kilo of cheese, garlic

стaкa´н чa´ю

a glass of tea

Note 1

The normal genitive forms for such nouns must be used whenever a genitive is used with any meaning other than partitive meaning (e.g. цвeт мёдa, the colour of honey ), or when the noun is qualified by an adjective, e.g. стaкa´н

крe´пкого чa´я, a glass of strong tea .

2

Even when the meaning is partitive the forms in -y and -ю are now

infrequently used in R2/R3, except in the established phrases мно´го нaро´ду

and стaкa´н чa´ю. They are perhaps more widespread in R1 and among older speakers.

r Genitive endings in - yor - юalso occur in some set phrases including a preposition which governs the genitive case. In this use they persist in all registers, though many of the phrases tend to be colloquial. The examples below are arranged in order according to the preposition

which governs the noun in question.

Note:

the stress tends to be capricious in such phrases.

бe´з году нeдe´ля(R1)

only a few days

бeз ро´ду, бeз плe´мeни

without kith or kin

говори´ть бeз у´молку

to talk incessantly

ну´жно до зaрe´зу

needed urgently

нe до смe´ху

in no mood for laughter

упусти´ть что´-н и´з виду

to overlook sth

Eй пять лeт о´т роду.

She is five years old.

c глa´зу нa´ глaз

eyeball-to-eyeball

умeрe´ть с го´лоду

to starve to death

кри´кнуть с испу´гу

to cry out from fright

спи´ться с кру´гу

to go to seed from drink

сбивa´ть/сбить кого´-н с то´лку

to confuse sb

9.1.5

Locative singular forms in -у´/-ю´

Quite a large number of masculine nouns which denote inanimate

objects have a special prepositional singular ending (- у´after hard consonants, - ю´when the nominative ends in - й) when they are used after воr нain a locative sense (i.e. when they indicate the place where sth is situated or happening). In a few cases usage wavers between this form and the normal ending for such nouns (- e), in which case the irregular ending may seem more colloquial.