Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

or functions of each of the six cases of modern Russian and also the use of those cases with verbs. The use of the case after prepositions, some of which may invariably govern it and others of which govern it when they have certain meanings, is examined thoroughly in 10.1–10.3.

11.1.1

Use of the nominative

(a)

The nominative is the case used to indicate the subject of a clause: Кни´гaлeжa´лa нa столe´.

The book lay on the table .

B сaду´ сидe´лa ко´шкa.

A cat was sitting in the garden .

ивa´нзовёт брa´тa.

Ivan is calling his brother .

Note:

in Russian the subject may follow the verb; it is inflection, not word order (on which see 11.14), that makes clear the grammatical relationships in the sentence.

(b)

The complement of the verb to be may also stand in the nominative when the verb to be is not actually stated, i.e. in the present tense, e.g.

Mоя´ мaть – врaч.

My mother is a doctor .

Oн – грузи´н.

He is a Georgian .

A nominative complement is also used when the verb form eстьis used, in the sense of is , and the complement is the same as the subject (see 4.2), e.g.

Прa´вдa eсть прa´вдa.

The truth is the truth .

When the verb to be occurs in the past tense a nominative complement may be used (although the instrumental is now preferred; see

11.1.10(e)), e.g.

Oн был выдaю´щийся писa´тeль.

He was an outstanding writer .

11.1.2

Use of the accusative

(a)

The principal use of the accusative case is to express the direct object of a transitive verb, e.g.

Я читa´ю кни´гу.

I am reading a book .

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11

Syntax

Oн пи´шeт письмо´.

He is writing a letter .

Oнa´ лю´бит отцa´.

She loves her father .

Note 1

See 11.1.3 on the animate category of nouns.

2

No reflexive verb, with the partial exception of слу´шaться/послу´шaться(see

11.1.5(b)), may govern the accusative.

(b)

The accusative is also used, without any preposition, to express the duration of an action, the distance covered, price, and weight. In

the first two meanings it often follows a verb with the prefix пpo-

(see 8.3, пpo- (c)).

Paбо´тa продолжa´лaсь всю зи´му.

Work continued all winter .

Oни´ проe´хaли ты´сячу

They travelled a thousand kilometres .

киломe´тров.

дом сто´ит миллио´ндо´ллaров.

The house costs a million dollars .

Maши´нa вe´сит то´нну.

The car weighs a tonne .

11.1.3

Use of case to denote animate direct object

Many animate nouns must be put in the genitive case when they are

used as direct objects. This usage arises from the fact that in most types of noun the nominative and accusative forms have come to coincide.

Given the flexibility of Russian word order, clauses in which both

subject and object are animate could be ambiguous were the

grammatical forms of subject and object to remain undifferentiated.

(Take, for example, the hypothetical statement ивa´н уби´л брaт.) By marking the object by use of the genitive form, which in all categories of noun is distinct from the accusative, a speaker avoids confusion as to which noun is subject and which is object (cf. the similar function of the preposition ato mark an animate direct object in Spanish, e.g. Él matоá un toro, He killed a bull ).

Animate nouns include those denoting people, animals, birds,

reptiles, fish and insects, and embrace all three genders. The following table shows which types of Russian animate noun have to be marked in this way when they function as the direct object of a transitive verb.

accusative form preserved

genitive form required

masculine singular

брa´тa

brother

ти´грa

tiger

орлa´

eagle

пито´нa

python

кa´рпa

carp

пaукa´

spider

masculine plural

сыновe´й

sons

слоно´в

elephants

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11.1

Use of the cases

со´колов

falcons

крокоди´лов

crocodiles

осeтро´в

sturgeons

мурaвьёв

ants

feminine singular and

masculine singular in -a/-я

feminine plural

жe´нщину

woman

дe´вушeк

girls

ло´шaдь

horse

собa´к

dogs

лa´сточку

swallow

соро´к

magpies

змeю´

snake

кобр

cobras

aку´лу

shark

щук

pikes

бa´бочку

butterfly

пчёл

bees

Ca´шу

Sasha

дя´дю

uncle

neuter singular

neuter plural

должностны´х лиц

officials

млeкопитa´ющee

mammal

млeкопитa´ющих

mammals

прeсмыкa´ющeeся

reptile

прeсмыкa´ющихся

reptiles

нaсeко´моe

insect

нaсeко´мых

insects

miscellaneous

miscellaneous

толпу´

crowd

нaро´д

a people

войскa´(n pl)

troops

труп

dead body,

мeртвeцa´

dead man

corpse

поко´йникa

the deceased

дa´му

queen (cards)

фeрзя´

queen (chess)

короля´

king (cards,

chess)

тузa´

ace (cards)

вaлe´тa

jack (cards)

(пусти´ть)

to fly a kite

бумa´жного змe´я

Note 1

The words Mapc, Meрку´рий, Heпту´н, Плуто´н,У рa´н, Юпи´тeрare treated as inanimate when they denote planets in the solar system but as animate when they denote the classical gods after whom the planets are named, e.g.