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Genitive case

In Russian, the genitive case is mainly used to indicate possession or ownership. It is formed by adding a specific set of endings to nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.


USES

To show possession or ownership:

AFFIRMATION:

  • Моя книга (my book)

  • Твоя собака (your dog)

  • Его комната (his room)

  • Наш дом (our house)

  • Ваши карандаши (your pencils)

  • Их машина (their car)

  • У меня есть молоко (I have milk)

  • У тебя есть папа (you have a dad)

  • У нас есть яблоко (we have an apple)

  • Её кошка (her cat)

  • Его собака (his dog)

  • У етого мужчины (есть) моё молоко (that man has my milk)

  • Кошка девочки (the girl´s cat)

  • Собака мамы (mom´s dog)

Есть is optional and can be omitted because it is not the main point of the sentence, it is already known that he has the object, and the main point of the sentence is to point out моё, which refers to MY milk.

The possessor always goes behind the object and it is in genitive.

NEGATION: To show the absence of something

  • У мамы нет молока (mom doesn´t have milk)

  • У папы нет папы (dad doesn´t have a dad)

  • У кошки нет яблока (the cat doesn´t have an apple)

  • Её нет кошки (she doesn´t have a cat)

  • Его нет собаки (he doesn´t have a dog)

  • У етого мужчины нет моего молока (that man doesn´t have my milk)

To indicate the material something is made of:

  • Коробка из дерева (a wooden box)

  • Стул из пластика (a plastic chair)

  • Крыльцо из камня (a stone porch)

To indicate the part of something that is being referred to:

  • Крылья самолета (the wings of the plane)

  • Колесо машины (the wheel of the car)

  • Рука человека (the hand of a person)

Certain prepositions:

  • Без книги (without a book)

  • Вместо папы (instead of dad)

  • За столом (behind the table)

  • После школы (after school)

  • При доме (at the house)

  • Рядом с магазином (next to the store)

Structure: "noun in the genitive case + of + noun in the nominative case”:

  • Книга моего брата (the book of my brother)

  • Машина его отца (the car of his father)

  • Дом нашей семьи (the house of our family)

  • Карандаши вашей сестры (the pencils of your sister)

  • Коробка из дерева (a box made of wood)

*Note that the noun in the genitive case typically comes before the noun in the nominative case, but this can vary depending on the context and the word order of the sentence.

SINGULAR

PLURALS

Masculine

1. If the noun ends in a consonant, add "а" 2. Replace "й" with "я" 3. Replace "ь" with "я" If ends in “ж, ч, ш, щ, ь” add “eй”

If ends in “й, ц“ (stressed) add ”ев“ All other masculine nouns end in ”ов“

Feminine

1. Replace “a” with “ы” 2. Replace “я” with “и” 3. Replace "ь" with “и” If ends in ”a” remove it (no ending)

If ends in [consonant] “я“ then ”ь“ If ends in [vowel] “я“ then “й“ Of ends in ”ь“ add ”ей“ *Note : If a feminine word ends in a double consonant it is quite common for a vowel (o, e) to be inserted for easy pronunciation . (маpка - маpок, англичанка – англичаиок, девушка – девyшek)

Neutral

1. Replace “o” with “a” 2. Replace “e” with "я" If ends in “o“ then drop “o“ (no ending)

If ends in “e“ becomes “eй“ If ends in “ие“ becomes “ий“

Genitive case

In Russian, the genitive case is mainly used to indicate possession or ownership. It is formed by adding a specific set of endings to nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.


USES

To show possession or ownership:

AFFIRMATION:

  • Моя книга (my book)

  • Твоя собака (your dog)

  • Его комната (his room)

  • Наш дом (our house)

  • Ваши карандаши (your pencils)

  • Их машина (their car)

  • У меня есть молоко (I have milk)

  • У тебя есть папа (you have a dad)

  • У нас есть яблоко (we have an apple)

  • Её кошка (her cat)

  • Его собака (his dog)

  • У етого мужчины (есть) моё молоко (that man has my milk)

  • Кошка девочки (the girl´s cat)

  • Собака мамы (mom´s dog)

Есть is optional and can be omitted because it is not the main point of the sentence, it is already known that he has the object, and the main point of the sentence is to point out моё, which refers to MY milk.

The possessor always goes behind the object and it is in genitive.

NEGATION: To show the absence of something

  • У мамы нет молока (mom doesn´t have milk)

  • У папы нет папы (dad doesn´t have a dad)

  • У кошки нет яблока (the cat doesn´t have an apple)

  • Её нет кошки (she doesn´t have a cat)

  • Его нет собаки (he doesn´t have a dog)

  • У етого мужчины нет моего молока (that man doesn´t have my milk)

To indicate the material something is made of:

  • Коробка из дерева (a wooden box)

  • Стул из пластика (a plastic chair)

  • Крыльцо из камня (a stone porch)

To indicate the part of something that is being referred to:

  • Крылья самолета (the wings of the plane)

  • Колесо машины (the wheel of the car)

  • Рука человека (the hand of a person)

Certain prepositions:

  • Без книги (without a book)

  • Вместо папы (instead of dad)

  • За столом (behind the table)

  • После школы (after school)

  • При доме (at the house)

  • Рядом с магазином (next to the store)

Structure: "noun in the genitive case + of + noun in the nominative case”:

  • Книга моего брата (the book of my brother)

  • Машина его отца (the car of his father)

  • Дом нашей семьи (the house of our family)

  • Карандаши вашей сестры (the pencils of your sister)

  • Коробка из дерева (a box made of wood)

*Note that the noun in the genitive case typically comes before the noun in the nominative case, but this can vary depending on the context and the word order of the sentence.

SINGULAR

PLURALS

Masculine

1. If the noun ends in a consonant, add "а" 2. Replace "й" with "я" 3. Replace "ь" with "я" If ends in “ж, ч, ш, щ, ь” add “eй”

If ends in “й, ц“ (stressed) add ”ев“ All other masculine nouns end in ”ов“

Feminine

1. Replace “a” with “ы” 2. Replace “я” with “и” 3. Replace "ь" with “и” If ends in ”a” remove it (no ending)

If ends in [consonant] “я“ then ”ь“ If ends in [vowel] “я“ then “й“ Of ends in ”ь“ add ”ей“ *Note : If a feminine word ends in a double consonant it is quite common for a vowel (o, e) to be inserted for easy pronunciation . (маpка - маpок, англичанка – англичаиок, девушка – девyшek)

Neutral

1. Replace “o” with “a” 2. Replace “e” with "я" If ends in “o“ then drop “o“ (no ending)

If ends in “e“ becomes “eй“ If ends in “ие“ becomes “ий“

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