🧩 Russian Cases: The Six-Case System
Russian's six cases explained: how nouns change by role in the sentence, with clear examples. Free grammar guide for learners.
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Why Cases Matter
In English, word order tells you who does what: "The dog chases the cat" means something different from "The cat chases the dog." Russian uses a different strategy — word ENDINGS change to show each noun's role in the sentence. These ending patterns are called cases. Because the endings carry the meaning, Russian word order is flexible: Собака видит кошку and Кошку видит собака both mean "The dog sees the cat" — the -у ending on кошку marks it as the object regardless of position. Russian has six cases, each marking a different grammatical role.
The Six Cases at a Glance
Each case answers a specific question:
| Case | Question | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Кто? Что? (Who? What?) | Subject | Кот спит. (The cat sleeps.) |
| Genitive | Кого? Чего? (Of whom? Of what?) | Possession, absence, "of" | нет кота (no cat) |
| Dative | Кому? Чему? (To whom?) | Indirect object | дал коту (gave to the cat) |
| Accusative | Кого? Что? (Whom? What?) | Direct object | вижу кота (I see the cat) |
| Instrumental | Кем? Чем? (By whom? With what?) | Means, accompaniment | с котом (with the cat) |
| Prepositional | О ком? О чём? (About whom?) | Location, "about" | о коте (about the cat) |
Masculine Noun Endings
For masculine nouns ending in a consonant (like кот, стол, дом):
| Case | Ending | кот (cat) | стол (table) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | — | кот | стол |
| Genitive | -а | кота | стола |
| Dative | -у | коту | столу |
| Accusative | -а (animate) / — (inanimate) | кота | стол |
| Instrumental | -ом | котом | столом |
| Prepositional | -е | коте | столе |
Feminine Noun Endings
For feminine nouns ending in -а (like книга, мама, школа):
| Case | Ending | книга (book) | мама (mom) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -а | книга | мама |
| Genitive | -ы / -и | книги | мамы |
| Dative | -е | книге | маме |
| Accusative | -у | книгу | маму |
| Instrumental | -ой | книгой | мамой |
| Prepositional | -е | книге | маме |
Neuter Noun Endings
For neuter nouns ending in -о or -е (like окно, море):
| Case | Ending (-о) | окно (window) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -о | окно |
| Genitive | -а | окна |
| Dative | -у | окну |
| Accusative | -о | окно |
| Instrumental | -ом | окном |
| Prepositional | -е | окне |
Key Prepositions by Case
Certain prepositions always require a specific case. Learning these pairings is one of the most practical ways to internalize the case system.
| Preposition | Case | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| в + Prep. | Prepositional | in, at (location) | в школе (at school) |
| в + Acc. | Accusative | to (direction) | в школу (to school) |
| на + Prep. | Prepositional | on (location) | на столе (on the table) |
| на + Acc. | Accusative | onto (direction) | на стол (onto the table) |
| с + Instr. | Instrumental | with | с другом (with a friend) |
| у + Gen. | Genitive | at, near, "have" | у меня (I have / at my place) |
| без + Gen. | Genitive | without | без воды (without water) |
| к + Dat. | Dative | toward | к врачу (to the doctor) |
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