Russian Noun Cases Guide

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	— / -й / -ь	-а / -я / -ь	-о / -е
Accusative	=Nom (inan) / =Gen (anim)	-у / -ю	=Nom
Genitive	-а / -я	-ы / -и	-а / -я
Dative	-у / -ю	-е / -и	-у / -ю
Instrumental	-ом / -ем	-ой / -ей / -ью	-ом / -ем
Prepositional	-е / -и	-е / -и	-е / -и

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	-ы / -и	-ы / -и	-а / -я
Accusative	=Gen Pl	=Gen Pl	=Gen Pl
Genitive	-ов / -ев / -ей / —	— / -ей	— / -ей
Dative	-ам / -ям	-ам / -ям	-ам / -ям
Instrumental	-ами / -ями	-ами / -ями	-ами / -ями
Prepositional	-ах / -ях	-ах / -ях	-ах / -ях

Nominative Именительный падеж Кто? Что? — Who? What?

Core Uses

Subject of the sentence — the one doing the action
Predicate noun after быть (to be) — "He is a soldier"
Dictionary form — what you look up

Memory Hook

This is the base form. No ending changes from the dictionary. If you can't remember a case, nominative is your fallback — it won't always be right but it won't confuse a native speaker completely.

Think of it as the noun standing up straight, announcing itself: "I am the subject."

Common Endings

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	— (consonant) / -й / -ь	-ы / -и
Feminine	-а / -я / -ь	-ы / -и
Neuter	-о / -е	-а / -я

Arma Examples

Солдат бежит. The soldier is running. солдат = subject

Вертолёт летит на север. The helicopter is flying north. вертолёт = subject

Командир здесь. The commander is here. predicate position, no verb needed

Враг в деревне. The enemy is in the village. враг = subject

Accusative Винительный падеж Кого? Что? — Whom? What?

Core Uses

Direct object — receives the action of the verb
Direction / destination with в and на
Duration of time ("for three hours")

Memory Hook

Inanimate nouns: look identical to Nominative for masculine and neuter. Only feminine changes (-а → -у, -я → -ю).

Animate nouns (people, animals): masculine changes to match Genitive (-а / -я). Think "alive = care more about it = different ending."

Rule of thumb: if you can replace the noun with "him/her/it" in English, it's accusative.

Common Endings

Gender	Inanimate Sg.	Animate Sg.	Plural
Masculine	= Nominative	-а / -я (= Gen.)	= Gen. Plural
Feminine	-у / -ю	-у / -ю	= Gen. Plural
Neuter	= Nominative	= Nominative	= Gen. Plural

Arma Examples

Я вижу врага. I see the enemy. враг (animate masc.) → врага in accusative

Возьми оружие. Take the weapon. оружие (inanimate neuter) = nominative form

Едем в базу. We're driving to base. в + accusative = destination/direction

Вызываю командира. I'm calling the commander. командир (animate masc.) → командира

Я вижу машину. I see the vehicle. машина (inanimate fem.) → машину

Иди на позицию. Move to the position. на + accusative = direction toward

Genitive Родительный падеж Кого? Чего? — Of whom? Of what?

Core Uses

Possession / "of" — "the commander's rifle" / "rifle of the commander"
Absence with нет — "there is no…"
After numbers 2–4 (singular gen.) and 5+ (plural gen.)
After quantity words: много, мало, несколько
After prepositions: у, из, от, без, до, после, для, около
Negation — making a verb negative often triggers genitive

Memory Hook

Genitive is the most common non-nominative case — learn it first and you'll unlock a huge amount of Russian.

The "of" trick: mentally insert "of" between two nouns. "Автомат of the soldier" → солдата in genitive.

Нет + genitive = absence. "У меня нет патронов" — I have no ammunition. The thing that doesn't exist goes genitive.

Common Endings

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-а / -я	-ов / -ев / -ей / —
Feminine	-ы / -и	— / -ей
Neuter	-а / -я	— / -ей

Arma Examples

У меня нет патронов. I have no ammunition. нет + genitive plural

Автомат солдата. The soldier's rifle. possession: солдат → солдата

Мы едем из города. We're driving out of the city. из + genitive = movement out of

Без связи опасно. Without comms it's dangerous. без + genitive = without

После боя отдыхаем. We rest after the battle. после + genitive = after

Два солдата, пять солдат. Two soldiers, five soldiers. 2-4 → genitive singular; 5+ → genitive plural

Dative Дательный падеж Кому? Чему? — To whom? For what?

Core Uses

Indirect object — the recipient of an action
With к (toward a person or place)
Experiencer constructions — "мне холодно" (I am cold)
Age — "мне двадцать лет" (I am twenty)
With по (along, according to, by)

Memory Hook

Dative is the "to/for" case. Any time you're giving, sending, saying, showing, or reporting something TO someone, that someone is dative.

Also remember: к + dative = moving toward a person. "Иду к командиру" — going to (toward) the commander. Contrast with в/на + accusative which are destinations (places).

Common Endings

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-у / -ю	-ам / -ям
Feminine	-е / -и	-ам / -ям
Neuter	-у / -ю	-ам / -ям

Arma Examples

Дай мне автомат. Give me the rifle. мне = me (dative of я)

Иди к командиру. Go to the commander. к + dative: toward a person

Доложи командиру. Report to the commander. indirect object of reporting

Мне нужна помощь. I need help. мне = dative "to me [it is needed]"

Отправь карту группе. Send the map to the group. группе = dative, recipient

Солдатам нужны припасы. The soldiers need supplies. солдатам = dative plural

Instrumental Творительный падеж Кем? Чем? — By whom? By what means?

Core Uses

The tool or means used to do something
Together with / accompanied by — with с
Profession or role after быть — "он был командиром"
After prepositions: над, под, перед, за, между
Mode of travel — "едем машиной" (traveling by car)

Memory Hook

Think "instrument" — what you're using. Стреляю автоматом — shooting with/by means of a rifle. The ending -ом / -ей / -ью is very recognizable once you see it a few times.

С + instrumental = together with. "С командиром" = with the commander. Don't confuse with из (out of, genitive) — с means companionship or joint action.

Common Endings

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-ом / -ем	-ами / -ями
Feminine	-ой / -ей / -ью	-ами / -ями
Neuter	-ом / -ем	-ами / -ями

Arma Examples

Стреляю пулемётом. I'm firing with the machine gun. пулемёт → пулемётом (instrument)

Едем с командиром. We're driving with the commander. с + instrumental = together with

Прикрываю группу за домом. I'm covering the group behind the house. за + instrumental = behind

Вертолёт над нами. The helicopter is above us. над + instrumental = above

Он был снайпером. He was a sniper. role/profession after быть → instrumental

Между позициями тихо. It's quiet between the positions. между + instrumental = between

Prepositional Предложный падеж О ком? О чём? Где? — About whom? Where?

Core Uses

Location with в and на — "in/at/on" (static position)
Talking about something with о/об
After при (during, in the presence of)
Always used with a preposition — never standalone

Memory Hook

The key contrast: в/на + accusative = motion toward. в/на + prepositional = static location.

"Едем в деревню" (we're going TO the village — accusative direction) vs "Мы в деревне" (we ARE in the village — prepositional location). Same preposition, totally different meaning based on case.

Endings are some of the most consistent in Russian: mostly -е for singular across all genders.

Common Endings

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-е / -и	-ах / -ях
Feminine	-е / -и	-ах / -ях
Neuter	-е / -и	-ах / -ях

Arma Examples

Мы в деревне. We're in the village. в + prepositional = static location

Враг на холме. The enemy is on the hill. на + prepositional = on/at (location)

Говорим о враге. We're talking about the enemy. о + prepositional = about

Снайпер на крыше. Sniper on the roof. на + prepositional: крыша → крыше

Техника в лесу. The vehicles are in the forest. в + prepositional: лес → лесу (irregular)

При атаке держи позицию. During the attack, hold position. при + prepositional = during/in the event of

Key Contrast: в/на + ACC vs. в/на + PREP

Motion → Accusative

Едем в деревню — going TO the village
Иди на позицию — go TO the position
Смотри на север — look TO the north

Location → Prepositional

Мы в деревне — we ARE in the village
Враг на позиции — enemy IS at the position
База на севере — base IS in the north