| nom. | gen. | dat. | acc. | inst. | prep. |
Язык до Киева доведёт.
A clever tongue will take you anywhere. (saying)
| Purpose |
The genitive case is the second case in Russian. It answers the questions чего? and кого? Its purpose is to indicate possession in a sentence. However, it has so many more uses in Russian. In fact, this case is a must to learn. Okay, all cases need to be learned, but this one especially! It has such high usage because of its endless versatility. The majority of Russian prepositions take this case. That, however, is a topic for another day.
| Formation |
You should notice a similarity in declension between this case and the accusative. For masculine nouns!
| Masculine |
| consonant + a | сад (garden) дом (house) мяч (ball) стол (table) | сада – дома – мяча – стола – |
| –й becomes –я | трамвай (tram) май (May) урожай (harvest) | трамвая – мая – урожая – |
| –ь becomes –я | дождь (rain) медведь (bear) | дождя – медведя – |
| Feminine |
| –a becomes –ы | голова (head) вода (water) корова (cow) | головы – воды – коровы – |
| –я becomes –и | неделя (week) земля (ground) | недели – земли – |
| –ь becomes –и | постель (bed) жизнь (life) | постели – жизни – |
| Neuter |
| –o becomes –a | место (place) окно (window) дерево (tree) | места – окна – дерева – |
| –e becomes –я | море (sea) платье (dress) | моря – платья – |
That covers the genitive case for singular nouns. What about plural nouns? We will not be covering the genitive plural anytime soon. That will likely be the last plural covered. It’s rather complex – many endings and many exceptions.
Edit: You can now find the genitive plural on this blog.
| Last Edit: 12/04/2025. |
My Slavic Studies 