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Russian Language Grammar

LETTERS AND
PRONUNCIATION
Handwriting
Capitalization Declension of Nouns in the Plural
Pronunciation
Stress General Pattern
NOUNS (GENDER AND
NUMBER)
Gender MASCULINE
Rules for the Gender
Usage of Gender
Hard Nouns Soft Nouns
Number
Basic Plural Endings
Irregular Plural Endings (in a consonant) стол (in - ь) словарь (in - й) случай
Nouns Having Only One
Number Random Russian Idiom
Usage of Singular and NOM. столы словари случаи
Plural
DECLENSION OF NOUNS (БЫТЬ) НА РУКУ кому-
Cases GEN. столов словарей случаев то
Declension of Masculine (colloquial, often with это)
Nouns, Singular
DAT. столам словарям случаям something is advantageous
Declension of Neuter Nouns, for someone
Singular just what one needs (wants)
Declension of Feminine something serves one’s
Nouns, Singular ACC. столы словари случаи
purposes
Declension of Nouns in the something is to someone’s
Plural advantage (benefit)
INSTR. столами словарями случаями something plays into the
Irregular Declensions in the
Singular and Plural hands of someone
Declension of Proper Names something plays into the
PREP. столах словарях случаях hands of someone
Usage of Cases
More Russian Idioms...
Nominative
Genitive FEMININE
Dative Random Russian Word
Accusative
Instrumental Hard Nouns Soft Nouns
Prepositional СЛОН
ADJECTIVES
(in -a) комната (in -я) (in -ия) линия (in -ь) тетрадь [slon]
Endings of Adjectives деревня
Declension of Adjectives in
the Singular and Plural
elephant
Qualitative, Relative and NOM. комнаты деревни линии тетради
Possessive Adjectives
Short Adjectives
Usage of Adjectives GEN. комнат деревень линий тетрадей
The Comparative Degree
The Superlative Degree More Russian Words...
Adjectives with Variable DAT. комнатам деревням линиям тетрадям
Meanings
Russian Piece of Music
PRONOUNS
ACC. комнаты деревни линии тетради
Personal Pronouns
Rimsky-Korsakov - Symphony no.1 in
The Reflexive Pronoun "себя" E minor, Op.1 - Scherzo
Possessive Pronouns
INSTR. комнатами деревнями линиями тетрадями
Demonstrative Pronouns
Definite Pronouns
Interrogative Relative PREP. комнатах деревнях линиях тетрадях
Pronouns
Negative Pronouns
 Indefinite Pronouns NEUTER
Pronoun-Numerals
NUMERALS
Hard Nouns Soft Nouns
Cardinal Numerals
Ordinal Numerals
Usage of Some Cardinal and
(in -о) окно (in -е) море (in -ие) здание
Ordinal Numerals Couldn't load plugin.
Collective Numerals
Fractional Numerals and NOM. окна моря здания
Other Numerical Expressions
VERBS
Structure and Verbal Forms GEN. окон морей зданий
Infinitive
Tenses More Russian Music...
Present Tense. DAT. окнам морям зданиям
Conjugations
Past Tense Random Russian Joke
Future Tense ACC. окна моря здания

Aspect
Голосование:
Mood INSTR. окнами морями зданиями - Кто за?.. Кто против?.. Кто
The Conditional Mood воздержался?.. Итак,
The Imperative Mood большинством голосов “за”, при
Reflexive Verbs PREP. окнах морях зданиях одном только Копернике
“против”, вопрос о Земле мы
Impersonal Verbs
решили. Переходим к
Verbs of Motion следующему вопросу...
Basic Verbs of Motion Rules Pertaining to the Declension of Nouns in the Plural
Usage of Basic Verbs of More Russian Jokes...
The dative, instrumental and prepositional take the following endings for all genders:
Motion
Prefixed Verbs of Motion
Usage of Prefixed Verbs of News From Russia
PLURAL Dat. Instr. Prep.
Motion
Participles NATO to hold biggest military
Classification drills in decade, Russia
Hard Nouns -ам -ами -ax
welcome to observe
Active Participles
Corn-ered: America’s native
Passive Participles crop almost impossible to
Nouns and Adjectives Soft Nouns -ям -ями -ях avoid at supermarket
Derived from Participles Thanks, Michelle! Navy
Usage of Participles sailors blame fried food ban
The accusative of all nouns in the plural is like the nominative with inanimate nouns, and like the
Gerunds on First Lady
genitive with animate nouns:
The future is now: ‘Weird
Agreement of Verb Predicates
hotel’ in Japan employs robot
with Subjects
staff to save costs (VIDEO)
Agreement in Number Inanimate Animate Nearly 40% of African-
Agreement in Gender American children living in
Agreement in Case poverty – study
MASC. столы (tables) учеников (pupils) Wisconsin governor strips
Table of Russian Irregular
workers’ wage protections
Verbs
Topol turns 30: Missile
ADVERBS FEM. комнаты (rooms) коров (cows) launcher parade & ‘fuel-from-
Formation of Adverbs thin-air’ system (DRONE
Classification and Usage of VIDEO)
Adverbs Ripped apart: Colombian
NEUT. училища (schools) чудовищ (monsters)
Black Hawk chopper explodes
Qualifying Adverbs
in minefield (VIDEO)
Specifying Adverbs
The Instrumental plural of the nouns дверь (door), лошадь (horse) and дочь (daughter) has two
Primary Adverbs parallel forms:
Predicative Adverbs
PREPOSITIONS дверями, лошадями, дочерями,
Table of Prepositions дверьми, лошадьми, дочерьми
Basic Rules
Classification and Usage of The instrumental plural of дети and люди is детьми and людьми.
Prepositions
Primary Meaning The Genitive Plural
Secondary Meaning
Current Expressions with The genitive plural has a variety of endings and has therefore to be studied in detail.
“Verb+Preposition”
Construction HARD NOUNS
Idiomatic Usage
CONJUNCTIONS Nominative Singular Genitive Plural
Classification and Functions
of Conjunctions
Coordinate Conjunctions ENDING EXAMPLE ENDING EXAMPLE
Subordinate Conjunctions
Conjunctive Words
PARTICLES MASC. consonant стол -ов (1)* столов
General Remarks
Classification and Usage of
FEM. -a река — рек
Particles
INTERJECTIONS
Classification of Interjections NEUT. -o слово — (2)* слов
Usage of Interjections
Sounds as Interjections * See Remarks under corresponding numbers below.

1. Masculine Nouns Ending in a Consonant

(a) Nouns ending in -ж, -ч, -ш, -щ in the nominative singular take -ей in the genitive plural: нож:
ножей; карандаш: карандашей.

(b) Nouns ending in unaccented -ец in the nominative singular take -ев in the genitive plural:
палец: пальцев.

(c) Several nouns have the same ending in their genitive plural as in the nominative singular: волос
– hairs (this noun changes the stress from the nominative singular волос); вольт – volts; глаз – eyes;
гренадeр – grenadiers; грузин – Georgians; гусар – hussars; драгун – dragoons; кадет – cadets;
раз – times; партизан – partisans; сапог – boots; солдат – soldiers; турок – Turks; человек –
people (when used with numerals, such as пять человек).

(d) Nouns with the irregular ending -ья in the nominative plural take -ьев in the genitive plural: брат
(brother) братья: братьев; лист (leaf) листья: листьев.

Exceptions:

друг (friend) друзья: друзей

сын (son) сыновья: сыновей

князь (prince) князья: князей

муж (husband) мужья: мужей

(e) Nouns ending in -онок / -ёнок in the singular and changing it into -ата / -ята in the plural form
their genitive plural as follows:

ребёнок (child) ребята: ребят

котёнок (kitten) котята: котят

медвежонок (bear cub) медвежата: медвежат.

2. Neuter Nouns Ending in -o

Nouns with the irregular ending -ья in the nominative plural take -ьев in the genitive plural: дерево
(tree) деревья: деревьев; перо (feather) перья: перьев.

SOFT NOUNS – FIRST GROUP

All nouns in this group take the ending -ей in the genitive plural.

Nominative Singular Genitive Plural

ENDING EXAMPLE ENDING EXAMPLE

MASC. -ь рубль -ей рублей

FEM. -ь дверь -ей дверей

NEUT. -e море -ей (3)* морей

* See Remarks under corresponding numbers below.

3. Neuter Nouns Ending in ж, ч, ш, and щ

Neuter nouns with the stem ending in -ж, -ч, -ш, -щ and most neuter nouns with the stem ending in -ц
drop the final e in their genitive plural: училище (school) училищ; сердце (heart) сердец.

SOFT NOUNS – SECOND GROUP

Nominative Singular Genitive Plural

ENDING EXAMPLE ENDING EXAMPLE

MASC. -й случай; бой -ев; -ёв случаев; боёв

FEM. -я after a буря -ь (4)* бурь

consonant

FEM. -я following a линия -й (5)* линий

vowel

NEUT. -ие; -ье здание -й (6)* зданий

* See Remarks under corresponding numbers below.

4. Feminine Nouns Ending in -я Following a Consonant or -ь

(a) The following nouns take the ending -ен in the genitive plural:

басня (fable) басен спальня (bedroom) спален

башня (tower) башен сплетня (gossip) сплетен

вишня (cherry) вишен таможня (customs) таможен

песня (song) песен читальня (reading room) читален

сотня (a hundred) сотен

(b) The following nouns take the endings -ень and -онь in the genitive plural:

барышня (young girl) барышень

деревня (village) деревень

кухня (kitchen) кухонь

(с) A few nouns with the feminine ending -я take -ей in the genitive plural:

доля (part) долей распря (conflict, quarrel) распрей

западня (trap) западнeй тётя (aunt) тётей

ноздря (nostril) ноздрeй

(d) Feminine nouns ending in stressed -ья in the nominative singular take -ей in the genitive plural:
статья (article): статей. Feminine nouns ending in unstressed -ья in the nominative singular take -ий
in the genitive plural: колдунья (witch): колдуний.

5. Feminine Nouns Ending in -я Following a Vowel

The formation of the genitive plural is the same with any vowels preceding -я: идея: идей; статуя:
статуй.

6. Neuter Nouns Ending in -ье or -ьё

Most nouns ending in -ье or -ьё take the ending -ий in the genitive plural: воскресенье (Sunday):
воскресений; копьё (spear, lance): копий.

Exceptions: платье (dress): платьев; побережье (coast): побережий or поберeжьев;

ружьё (gun, rifle): ружей.

Isolated Cases of Irregularities in the Genitive Plural

юноша (young man), a noun with a feminine ending, has юношей in the
Masculine:
genitive plural.

вожжа (rein): вожжей; свеча (candle): свечей or the regular свеч. Мечта
Feminine:
(dream, longing) has no genitive plural.

облако (cloud) has облаков; семя (seed): семян; стремя (stirrup):

Neuter:
стремян; судно (boat, vessel): судов; яйцо (egg): яиц.

Insertion of "e" and "o" in the Genitive Plural

The letters о and e are inserted in the genitive plural ending of many feminine and neuter nouns – and
in the genitive plural ending of a few masculine diminutives with feminine or neuter endings:
мальчишка, домишко, etc. The number of these nouns is very large, since it includes not only
diminutives, but also nouns derived from other nouns or other parts of speech.

Examples :

ножка (leg) ножек; ручка (hand) ручек; тетрадка (notebook) тетрадок; окошко (window) окошек;
колечко (ring) колечек, etc.

записка (note) записок; американка (American woman) американок; полька (Polish woman)
полек; etc.
 Note: Actually, diminutives are translated by "little + noun." Ножка and ручка have independent
meanings, respectively: leg (of a table, etc.) and penholder, knob, handle.

Feminine Nouns
1. e is inserted in front of а к

(a) when к is preceded by ж, ч, ш, or ц:

девочка (girl) девочек

книжка (book, booklet) книжек

(b) when к is preceded by ь or й. The letters ь or й are then dropped:

копейка (kopeck) копеек

полька (Polish woman) полек

2. e is inserted in front of л or и preceded by a consonant:

земля (land) земель

песня (song) песен.

Exceptions: кукла (doll): кукол; княжна (daughter of a prince): княжон; волна (wave):
волн.

3. e is inserted in a few other instances:

овца (sheep): овец

свадьба (wedding): свадеб

тюрьма (prison): тюрем.

4. e is inserted in the following nouns which occur only in the plural (and where the nominative singular
is then no longer a guide):

деньги (money): денег

подтяжки (suspenders): подтяжек.

5. о is inserted in front of к which is not preceded by ж, ч, ш, ц:

палка (stick): палок

доска (board): досок

лавка (store): лавок.

6. о is also inserted in the following nouns which occur only in the plural:

носилки (stretcher): носилок

сливки (cream): сливок

сутки (day and night (24 hours): суток.

Neuter Nouns
1. e is inserted after a consonant or а ь

(a) when these letters are followed by -ко, -цо or -це:

окошко (small window): окошек

сердце (heart): сердец

кольцо (ring): колец.

(b) In most cases, when these letters are followed by -ло, -мо, -но, or -po:

кресло (armchair): кресел

письмо (letter): писем

пятно (spot): пятен

ведро (bucket): вёдер.

2. о is inserted when -ло, -мо, -но, -po are preceded by к:

окно (window): окон

стекло (glass, pane): стёкол.

Genitive of Nouns which Occur Only in the Plural

Since the nominative singular cannot serve here as a guide, the following rules will be helpful:

1. The few nouns which in the nominative plural end in -a drop this ending in the genitive:
ворота (gate): ворот; чернила (ink): чернил.

These nouns are declined like слова.

 2. The nouns ending in the nominative plural in -ы or -и (when the letter и is preceded by г, к, or
x) have two types of endings, depending on the stress in the nominative plural:

(a) When the endings -ы or -и are stressed, the genitive plural ends in -ов:

часы (watch): часов; духи (perfume): духов; штаны (trousers): штанов; очки (glasses):
очков.

These nouns are declined like столы.

(b) When the endings are not stressed, they are dropped in the genitive plural:

брюки (trousers): брюк; каникулы (vacation): каникул; макароны (spaghetti): макарон;

ножницы (scissors): ножниц.

These nouns are declined like книги, комнаты.

Exceptions: The following nouns with unstressed endings have a genitive plural ending in -ов:

консервы (canned goods): консервов

мемуары (memoirs): мемуаров

переговоры (negotiations): переговоров

проводы (seeing-off): проводов

финансы (finances): финансов.

3. The nouns ending in -и not preceded by г, к, or x have the ending -ей in the genitive plural:
будни (week days): будней; грабли (rake): граблей; дебри (jungle, thicket): дебрей;
дрожжи (yeast): дрожжей; люди (people): людей; сани (sleigh): санeй.

These nouns are declined like словари , ночи (except the above-mentioned instrumental: людьми).