Genitive Case

7 ноября 2018

In this article we will introduce the genitive case. It is one of the most common cases in the Russian language. The primary use of the genitive case is to indicate possession, however it also has many other uses within the Russian language. It is commonly used with numbers and other quantities. It is also probably one of the most complex cases in Russian particularly in the plural. However, once you can use the case efficiently the language should really open up to you, as you will have an understanding of four of the six Russian cases.

Forming the genitive case

Masculine Nouns

Feminine Nouns

Neuter Nouns

If the noun ends in a consonant, add “а”

Replace “й”, with “я”

Replace “ь”, add “я”

Replace “а” with “ы”

Replace “я” with “и”

Replace “ь” with “и”

Replace “о” with “а”

Replace “е” with “я”

For example, some names in the genitive case:

Иван (Ivan) becomes Ивана (of Ivan, Ivan's)

Адам becomes Адама (of Adam, Adam's)

Анна becomes Анны (of Anna, Anna's)

Дом Ивана - Ivan's house (lit: House of Ivan).

It may be worthwhile noting that the genitive case for masculine nouns is formed the same way as the accusative case for masculine animate nouns.

Using the genitive case - ownership

As you can see in the above example, you can use the genitive case to indicate possession. The 'owner' is the noun that is used in the genitive case. (This is like using 's in English). However, in Russian, the object that is owned always comes first. In the phrase "Дом Ивана", the house (Дом) is owned by Ivan. This is a similar concept to using the word 'of'' in English. Let's have a look at some more examples.

Собака Адама - Adam's dog. (lit: The dog of Adam's)

Автомобиль Анны - Anna's car. (lit: The car of Anna's)

Телефон Игоря - Igor's telephone. (lit: The telephone of Igor's)

Это телефон Адама? - Is this Adam's telephone? (lit: Is this the telephone of Adam's)

In the above examples, pay particular attention to the order of the words. Now let’s see some examples of the genitive case used like this in sentences.

Брат Адама любит Москву - Adam's brother loves Moscow.

Сестра Анны читает газету - Anna's sister is reading the newspaper.

Дедушка Ивана слушает радио - Ivan's grandfather is listens to the radio.

Did you notice that we used 3 different cases in the sentences above? It is important to understand why each case used. For example, in the first sentence: “Брат”(brother) is the subject of the sentence and uses the nominative case, “Адама” (Adam) is the owner of the first noun and uses the genitive case, “Москву” (Moscow) is the direct object of the verb and uses the Accusative case.

Using the genitive case - of

The genitive case is used to correspond to the English word ‘of’. This is exactly the same concept as above, except here we will give examples where you would actually use the word ‘of’ in English.

план города - A map of the city.

стакан молока - A glass of milk.

Pronouns of the genitive case

The pronouns of the genitive case are the same as the accusative case. (Меня, Тебя, Его, Её, Нас, Вас, Их)

You should now be able to form the genitive case and have a good understanding of when to use it. You may find that there are more occasions when you will need to use the genitive case.

Take your time to learn how to form the genitive case. As the case is very important in Russian, it is important that you can recognise it and form it quickly. Now you have learnt the basics you will find that with some practice you will be able to express a lot more concepts in Russian.