Svetlana Flemming - Colloquial Russian - The Next Step in Language Learning

prosi´t; (po-) ‘to ask for’; tre´bovat; (po-) ‘to demand’; xote´t; 8111

(za-) ‘to want’. Generally the genitive is used if the object is 9

abstract and the accusative if it is a concrete object or a person: 10

iska´t; po´mo]i ‘to seek for help’; iska´t; dom ‘to look for a 1

house’.

2

There are more examples in Unit 11.

3

4

Endings in the genitive case

5

6

Singular nouns

7

8

9

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter

20111

1

Nom.

Gen.

Nom.

Gen.

Nom.

Gen.

2

3

prezideńt

prezideńta

gaze´ta

gaze´ty

vino´

vińa

4

tramva´j

tramva´q

revol[

ćiq

revol[

ćii

zdańie

zdańiq

5

kreml;

kremlq´

vozmo´'nost;

vozmo´'nosti

vre´mq

vre´meni

6

7

8

Notes:

9

1 Never forget the effect the spelling rules have on endings: kni´ga 30

– kni´gi.

1

2

2 Remember that the accusative of masculine animate nouns is the 3

same as the genitive:

4

My za sy

ńa i pro´tiv otca´.

5

We are for the son and against the father.

6

7

3 Some masculine nouns also have alternative genitive endings in 8

-u or -[. They are most commonly found in the sense of ‘some’: 9

Kupi´

ha´[ ‘Buy some tea’. Note also the expression mno´go 40

naro´du ‘a lot of people’.

1

421111

14

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Russia and the Russian language

Plural

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter

Nom.

Gen. Nom.

Gen.

Nom.

Gen.

plural

plural

plural

prezideńt

prezideńtov

gaze´ta

gaze´t

vino´

vin

tramva´j

tramvaév

nedeĺq nedeĺ;

moŕe more´j

week

sea

kreml;

kremle´j

revol[

ćiq

revol[

ćij

zdańie

zdańij

vozmo´'nost;

vozmo´'nostej

vre´mq

vreme¨n

Notes:

1 Masculine nouns:

meśqc – meśqcev ‘months’ (because of the spelling rule); moskvi´h – moskvihe´j ‘Muscovites’ (also nouns ending in -' ,

-w and -]); sloj – sloe¨v ‘layers’ (because of the stressed ending); anglihańin – anglihań; brat – bra´t;ev; stul –

stuĺ;ev; drug – druze´j; syn – synove´j; rebe¨nok – dete´j; helove´k – l[de´j.

2 Feminine nouns:

ide´q – ide´j ‘ideas’; sem;q´ – seme´j ‘families’.

Sometimes a vowel (-o-, -e- or -e¨-) is inserted between the last two consonants of nouns ending in -a: studeńtka – studeńtok

‘female students’; de´vuwka – de´vuwek ‘girls’; nouns ending in -

nq generally do not have a -; : peśnq – peśen ‘songs’, but there are exceptions: dere´vnq – dereveń; ‘villages’; ku´xnq – ku´xon;

‘kitchens’.

3 Neuter nouns:

deŕevo – dere´v;ev ‘trees’.

Sometimes a vowel is inserted between the last two consonants of nouns ending in -o: okno´ – o´kon ‘windows’; pis;mo´ – piśem

‘letters’; kreślo – kreśel ‘armchairs’.

Rossiq i Russkij Qzyk

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15

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Adjectives and pronouns

2

3

Masculine and Neuter

Feminine

Neuter

4

5

intereśnogo

intereśnoj

intereśnyx

6

7

dre´vnego

dre´vnej

dre´vnix

8111

moego´

moe´j

moi´x

9

tvoego´

tvoe´j

tvoi´x

10

na´wego

na´wej

na´wix

1

2

va´wego

va´wej

va´wix

3

\´togo

\´toj

\´tix

4

togo´

toj

tex

5

vsego´

vsej

vsex

6

7

h;ego´

h;ej

h;ix

8

9

20111

Notes:

1

1 Remember that the accusative plural of masculine and feminine 2

animate nouns is the same as the genitive and that adjectives or 3

pronouns agreeing with them will also take endings like the 4

genitive:

5

6

Q zna´[ \´tix ruśskix 'eń]in i ix mu'e´j.

7

I know these Russian women and their husbands.

8

2 The genitive of personal pronouns and kto is the same as the 9

accusative. The genitive of hto is hego´.