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Intermediate

The Case System Overview

Six cases

Russian has six cases

Each marks a noun's role with its own endings.

📊 The six cases
Case Question Use
Nominative who? subject
Genitive of whom? possession, negation, 'of'
Dative to whom? indirect object
Accusative whom? direct object
Instrumental with what? means, 'with'
Prepositional about? only after prepositions
💬 Examples
стол → стола → столу → столом → столе
stol → stola → stolu → stolom → stole
table through the cases
📝 Nom, Gen, Dat, Acc, Inst, Prep
Я вижу стол.
Ya vizhu stol.
I see the table.
📝 стол = accusative (inanimate = nominative)
Endings depend on case, gender & number

A large but patterned system.

💬 Examples
в Москву
v Moskvu
to Moscow
📝 Accusative (motion)
в Москве
v Moskve
in Moscow
📝 Prepositional (location)
Cases make word order flexible

Endings carry the grammar, not position.

💬 Examples
Кошка видит собаку.
Koshka vidit sobaku.
The cat sees the dog.
📝 Subject (nom) + object (acc) clear from endings
Собаку видит кошка.
Sobaku vidit koshka.
The cat sees the dog. (emphasis)
📝 Reordered; cases keep the meaning