Introduction to Russian Cases

In Russian, words in a sentence often change—either by transforming into a different form or by having extensions (endings) added to them.

Why does this happen? Because Russian relies heavily on context. When you construct a sentence, the function of each word within that context determines its form.

So before anything else, you need to clearly understand the role of each word in the sentence. Once you do, you can refer to the appropriate table, select the correct form of the word (or add the right extension to it), and ensure your sentence is grammatically sound.

Below are the tables you'll need for reference:

• 1. Nouns Table
• 2. Pronouns Table
• 3. Adjectives Table
• 4. Demonstratives Table
• 5. Verbs Table
• 6. Adverbs Table
• 7. Prepositions Table
• 8. Particles Table
• 9. Conjunctions Table
• 10. Sentence Structuring

*Note: We're skipping verbs and adverbs for now because they aren't affected by what we're discussing here.

You just choose the adverb you want and have the required verb tense and conjugation and add that to your sentence. These are listed in this list, but not changed under this "cases" section.

With that out of the way, let's begin. Follow each step so you can know how to add the extensions to the noun and also choose all others correctly that go with it in that case. I made some examples in the end so you can see how it is done.

0. Choose the Sentence you want to say in English

"I am going to the gun store", "I am in the gun store", "I talked with the store owner"...

Identify each element in the sentence. What is the pronoun, what is the verb, and so on.

Then, identify which case the noun is in. To do that, proceed to step 1.

1. Case Identification

Noun as Subject<-Nominative; Noun as Direct Object<-Accusative; Noun as Indirect Object<-all the other 4.

* <- The Case changes the Noun.

Examples of Case Identification

2. Noun Declension Tables

a) 🧱The 3 Declension Groups

How this works: After choosing your case, we need to "treat" the initial noun. Say the noun in your phrase is стол, and you are referring to one table. So: singular.

This table says if 'стол' is the 1st, 2nd, or 3dr Declension and which gender it is. In your specific case, 'стол' is 2nd declension and Masculine.

Since you decided to make a sentnece with one table (стол) Move to table b)

💡Quantity with Declension Groups

b) Singular Noun Endings

So now here we have 2 things to deal with: Gender and Case.

And as for Gender we already got from the previous table that 'стол' is masculine. So you look up the correct termination to the word. In this specific case, with a Masculine gender and in Genitive case, стол becomes столa.

* Accusative: For masculine animate nouns, same as Genitive. For inanimate, same as Nominative.

Examples of Singular Noun Declension

c) Plural Noun Endings

If your noun 'стол' you wanted to use it in the plural, you would check this table. You already have that is it masculine and you already decided the sentence context will be Genitive, so you look up that entry in the table. in our case is -ов, so your noun word becomes столов in the plural under these settiongs.

Examples of Plural Noun Declension

столы is masculine, so you then see it in all cases. книги is feminine, so then you see it in all cases and so on.

3. Adjective Endings

For adjectives the logic is the same. The only difference is that they follow suit with the noun. So if you have a genitive case, the nouns is masculing and singular, you just choose the adjective you want and getit with the termination of signle adjectives under these sessionts. Say you have a red (красный) table, so the adjective will be changed to the Genitive case under masculine. So the termination is -ого and the word becomes красного

Singular Adjective Endings

Examples of Singular Adjective Declension

Plural Adjective Endings

Same as the logic above, your noun is male and plural and the case is genitive, the termination is -ых and you add that to the adjective in its default form. So, красные becomes bкрасных.

Examples of Plural Adjective Declension

4. Prepositions by Case

To check how to choose the correct preposition check my table "how to choose the correct preposition" below.

Examples of Prepositions by Case

5. Personal Pronouns

As for the personal pronouns, not how you choose them based on the Case: from Nominal all the way to Prepositional. For oyu starting out, this is why you hear some phrases as я and others as меня or мне, and for the untrained retard you are, you don't understand they are talking in a different case. So now, you do.

Examples of Personal Pronouns by Case

Particles Table

Then, we have what is called the particles table. Don't know who came up with the names, but it sounds like a physics, intergalactic class.

You use them based on the category. For instance, if it is negative you have 2 options:

Negative
• не General negation (verbs/adjectives)
• нет Negation of existence (used with the genitive case)

* note: in the: I have no time, it is a het. it is the browser that is turning the t in to an m

Conjunctions table

Finally we have the conjunctions table which is self-explanatory, you "conjunct", aka "join 2 sub-phrases. So, Something AND something else; Something WHILE something else; and so on

none of these are affected by cases.

Get the idea?

Sort of? You want to structure a sentence, so you need to know the context that will give you the case to form it in.

You also need to know each element of the sentence so you can make your sentence. Some of these components under the case change, others don't.

Remember that the point to cases is to first and foremost change the noun. All others are not the "company owner". They are employees, so they will change accordingly

Also note that I marked Prepositions as they don't change. They don't, you just choose the correct ones form the case.

• 1. Nouns (change)
• 2. Pronouns Table (change)
• 3. Adjectives Table (change)
• 4. Demonstratives Table (change)
• 5. Verbs Table (don't change)
• 6. Adverbs Table (don't change)
• 7. Prepositions Table (don't change)
• 8. Particles Table (don't change)
• 9. Conjunctions Table (don't change)
• 10.Sentence Structuring

Now, you have the components to form a sentence, but you also need structures for sentences. To do that, refer to this table.

Table Examples

Before moving on to some interactive examples, here is the rundown with a simple example, on how the noun's gender and quantity affect the adjective agreeing with it.

So you need to know for each case, the following endings:

• Nouns: gender, number (singular/plural), animacy (only affects accusative for masculine and plural), and declension group.
• Adjectives: gender, number, animacy (only affects accusative for masculine and plural).

And once you know which case you are in, you also need to use the corresponding pronouns for that case.

Steps to Decline Nouns and Adjectives in Russian:

1. Find the Case: Determine which case is required by the sentence (nominative, accusative, genitive, etc.).
2. Choose the Correct Pronouns: Based on the case, select the appropriate pronoun (e.g., I, she, him, etc.) that matches the case.
3. Decline the Noun: Based on the noun's gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number (singular or plural), use the correct endings for the chosen case. The declension table helps determine the correct endings.
4. Decline the Adjective: The adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Use the appropriate adjective endings for the case you're in.

For example:

Example Sentence: I see a beautiful car.

• Case: Accusative (because "I see" requires the accusative case)
• Pronoun: I (in nominative, so it doesn’t change in this case)
• Noun Declension: "Car" (машина) is feminine and singular, so it changes to "красивую машину" in the accusative case.
• Adjective Declension: "Beautiful" (красивый) must match the gender and number of the noun, so it becomes "красивую" in the accusative singular feminine form.