Questions: кто – who? / что – what?
The nominative case in Russian reveals the subject of a sentence. In Russian, it is the basic form of a noun or pronoun, which is provided in Russian dictionaries. The nominative case may also be referred to as the subjective case in English.
Barring creative writing, idioms and imperatives, sentences in the English language generally contain a subject (being either a noun or a pronoun) followed by a verb. As the form of nouns does not change according to case in English, it is necessary to understand what the subject is and the function that the subject performs.
As in Russian, the subject is the person, or thing of unidentified gender (such as a baby or animal), which performs an action, or to whom or which an action is directed. In other words, the subject identifies who or what does something, or to whom or what something is done to, in a conventional sentence. The action is expressed by the verb, the form of which may change in accordance with the grammatical gender of the subject in question (called a conjugation). In English, only irregular verbs such as to be, or the he / she / it form of regular verbs, change form for different subjects.
For example:
To be
I am
You are
He / she / it is
We are
You are
They are
Note that in Russian, the symbol ‘ –’ generally replaces conjugations of the verb to be in the present tense.
or
To want
I want
You want
He / she / it wants
We want
You want
They want
In Russian, every verb possesses its own unique ending in accordance with the subject in question.
For example:
To speak – говорить
Я говор-ю
Ты говор-ишь
Он / она / оно говор-ит
Мы говор-им
Вы говор-ите
Они говор- ят
When should I use the nominative case in the Russian language?
There are five circumstances in which the nominative case is used.
1. To express the subject of a sentence.
For example:
I speak English. – Я говорю по-английски.
Michael is learning Russian. – Майкл учит русский.
2. When a noun or pronoun is used alongside a verb, thereby forming a complex nominative predicate.
For example:
They bought a car. – Они купили машину.
Paul
is reading a book. – Пол читает книгу.
3. In one-word sentences.
Although as stated earlier, English sentences generally consist of a
subject and a verb, there are times when this is not necessary because the
context makes it sufficiently clear who the subject is, or which action is,
was, or will be performed. Both Russian and English share this trait.
Proper nouns used as subjects in the nominative sense, the objective sense and the vocative sense: Laura, Michael, London, Moscow, Paris, New York
Question words: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Location words : here, there
Answ
ering questions with a single noun:
What time is it? Midnight.
Answering questions with objective pronouns:
For example, consider the difference between the two sentences below:
I saw my friend. – Я видел мой друг. (‘I’ is a nominative case pronoun)
My friend saw me. – Мой друг видел меня. (‘me’ is an objective case pronoun)
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Nominative pronouns in English
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Nominative pronouns in Russian
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Objective pronouns in English
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Objective pronouns in Russian
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I
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я
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me
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меня
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you (singular)
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ты
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you (singular)
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тебя (informal, singular)
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he
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он
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him, it (masculine and neuter)
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его
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she
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она
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her, it
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её
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it
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оно
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it
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See he and she above.
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we
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мы
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us
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нас
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you (plural)
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вы
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you (plural)
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вас (formal, or plural)
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they
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они
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them
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их
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who
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кто
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whom
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кого
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whoever
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кто бы ни
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whomever
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кем бы
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4. In apposition, to provide further information about another noun (for example, to express its proper name, or a person’s title, following a common noun).
For example:
My friend the doctor , is very hardworking. – Мой друг доктор, очень трудолюбив.
The ‘World History’ channel is very interesting. – Канал “Всемирная история” очень интересен.
5. To indicate the subject complement
For example:
Maria is a teacher. – Мария – учительница .
Here, not only is ‘Maria’ in the nominative case by virtue of being the subject of ‘is’, but also ‘teacher’, because it is a subject complement , meaning it follows the linking verb to be and describes the subject.
When using the nominative case in Russian, there are certain things you should bear in mind in order to avoid making mistakes.
1. Ensure that there is agreement between the subject of the sentence and the verb.
For example:
Present tense conjugation of the verb ‘to go (by foot)’ in Russian
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Nominative case personal pronoun (subject)
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Verb conjugation
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1st Person Singular
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я
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иду́
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2nd Person Singular
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ты
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идёшь
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3rd Person Singular
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он / она / оно
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идёт
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1st Person Plural
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мы
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идём
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2nd Person Plural
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вы
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идёте
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3rd Person Plural
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они
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иду́т
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They are going to the supermarket. – Они идут в супермаркет.
This is correct because идут is the correct conjugation of the verb ‘to go’ for the subject они.
You are going to the supermarket. – Ты иду́ в супермаркет.
This is incorrect because иду́ is NOT the correct conjugation of the verb ‘to go’ for the subject ты. The correct conjugation of the verb is идёшь. What was written in Russian, was akin to writing ‘you is going to the supermarket’.
2. Ensure that the gender of the subject and the pronoun match, as well as the gender of any adjectives.
In Russian, everything possesses one of three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. This concept does not exist in the English language, with the exception of a few words inherited during the Norman conquest, such as blond (used to describe male hair colour) and blonde (used to describe female hair colour). As a result of the grammatical gender of nouns, it is essential to know precisely what grammatical gender a noun possesses because it affects the choice of pronoun, verb conjugation (as indicated in the first bullet point above) and adjectives used alongside the noun.
For example:
She is a beautiful woman. – Он красивый женщина.
This is incorrect because он is masculine pronoun and красивый is the masculine form of the adjective meaning ‘handsome, beautiful’. The comment was made about the beauty of a woman. Therefore, the correct sentence would be Она красивая женщина.
This article has covered pretty much everything there is to know about the nominative case – the easiest to master of the 6 grammatical cases used in the Russian language. All that is left now is for you to learn how to form the nominative case in Russian and you can find out all about that below.
Nominative case singular endings
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Gender
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Singular
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Examples
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Masculine
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-ø* / -й / -ь
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стол (table)
музей (museum)
лошадь (horse)
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Feminine
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-a / -я / -ь
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ручка (pen)
кухня (kitchen)
ночь (night)
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Neuter
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-о / -е
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дерево (tree)
солнце (sun)
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*Means no vowel.
Nominative case singular endings
It is relatively easy to form the plural in English; we simply add the letter ‘s’. However, in Russian the plurals change in accordance with the grammatical gender of the noun. To make it easier to digest, I’ve broken it down into three simple rules below.
Masculine nouns
If the last letter is ending with a consonant, then add -ы.
For example:
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English translation
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Nominative singular in Russian
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Nominative plural in Russian
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cake
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торт
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торты
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table
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стол
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столы
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But …
If the last letter ends in the partial vowel -й, replace it with -и.
For example:
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English translation
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Nominative singular in Russian
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Nominative plural in Russian
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museum
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музей
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музеи
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tea
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чай
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чаи
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Also, if the last letter ends in the soft sign -ь, replace it with -и.
For example:
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English translation
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Nominative singular in Russian
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Nominative plural in Russian
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dictionary, vocabulary
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словарь
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словари
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Feminine nouns
If the last letter ends in the vowel -а, replace it with -ы.
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English translation
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Nominative singular in Russian
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Nominative plural in Russian
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newspaper
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газета
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газеты
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visa
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виза
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визы
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If the last letter ends in the partial vowel -я, replace it with -и.
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English translation
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Nominative singular in Russian
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Nominative plural in Russian
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surname
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фамилия
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фамилии
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If the last letter ends in the soft sign -ь, replace it with -и.
For example:
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English translation
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Nominative singular in Russian
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Nominative plural in Russian
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exercise book
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тетрадь
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тетради
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pain
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боль
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боли
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Neuter nouns
If the last letter ends in the vowel -о, replace it with –а.
For example:
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English translation
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Nominative singular in Russian
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Nominative plural in Russian
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letter
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письмо
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письма
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window
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окно
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окна
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If the last letter is ending with the partial vowel -е, replace it with -я.
For example:
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English translation
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Nominative singular in Russian
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Nominative plural in Russian
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building
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здание
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здания
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sea
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море
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моря
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Important to remember!
1. The following nouns are always used in the plural. A more extensive list can be found here .
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English
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Nominative singular in Russian
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trousers
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брю́ки
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jeans
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джи́нсы
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watch
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часы́
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money
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де́ньги
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glasses
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очки́
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2. The endings of the nouns below are irregular.
Masculine nouns
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English singular
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Nominative singular in Russian
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English plural
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Nominative plural in Russian
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man
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человек
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men
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люди
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child
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ребёнок
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children
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дети
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friend
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друг
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friends
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друзья
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brother
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брат
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brothers
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братья
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son
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сын
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sons
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сыновья
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chair
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стул
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chairs
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стулья
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Feminine nouns
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English singular
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Nominative singular in Russian
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English plural
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Nominative plural in Russian
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mother
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мать
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mothers
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матери
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daughter
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дочь
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daughters
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дочери
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sister
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сестра
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sisters
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сёстры
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tree
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дерево
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trees
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деревья
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3. Some words end in -а in the plural.
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English singular
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Nominative singular in Russian
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English plural
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Nominative plural in Russian
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bank, coast
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бе́рег
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banks, coasts
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берега́
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camp
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ла́герь
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camps
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лагеря́
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city
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го́род
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cities
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города́
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director
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дире́ктор
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directors
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директора́
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doctor
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до́ктор
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doctors
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доктор а́
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eye
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глаз
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eyes
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глаз а́
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house
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дом
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houses
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дома́
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passport
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па́спорт
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passports
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паспорта́
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4. Certain words of foreign origin, which end in -о, -е, -и or -у are indeclinable; that is, their plural form is not different from the singular form. A more extensive list from which to locate these words can be found here .
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English singular
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Nominative singular in Russian
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avocado
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авокадо
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cab, taxi
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такси
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cafe
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кафе
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cinema
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кино
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coat
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пальто
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interview
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интервью
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kangaroo
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кенгуру
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mango
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манго
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metro
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метро
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portfolio
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портфолио
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radio
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радио
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show
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шоу
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tattoo
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тату
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video
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видео
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videoblog
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видеоблог
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5. Just as in English, some nouns (predominantly those describing abstract concepts) are exclusively used in the singular form.
For example:
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English singular
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Nominative singular in Russian
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beauty
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красота
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butter
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масло
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confidence
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уверенность
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creativity
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творчество
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friendship
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дружба
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happiness
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счастье
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honesty
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честность
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loyalty
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лояльность
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man (referring to mankind), human
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человек
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trust
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доверие
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water
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вода
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6. Some masculine nouns, names (including their diminutive forms) end in -a
or -я and follow the declension patterns of feminine nouns. However, the
adjectives and pronouns used alongside them must be masculine.
For example:
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English
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Russian
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Alexander
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Саша (diminutive form)
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dad
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папа
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grandfather
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дедушка
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man
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мужчина
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Nikita
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Никита (full name)
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uncle
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дядя
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young person
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юноша
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7. Both masculine and feminine nouns may end in the soft sign -ь and there
is no rule of thumb you can follow for determining the gender; you’ll
simply have to search for the gender in a dictionary.
Masculine words ending in the soft sign -ь
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English
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Russian
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Kremlin
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Кремль
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autumn
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осень
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rain
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дождь
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dictionary
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словарь
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Feminine words ending in the soft sign -ь
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English
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Russian
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daughter
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дочь
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salt
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соль
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8. Some nouns do not possess a feminine form (typically those concerning
professions).
For example:
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English
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Russian
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engineer
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инженер
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lawyer
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адвокат
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doctor
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врач
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9. Some nouns are both masculine and feminine.
For example:
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English
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Russian
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colleague
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коллега
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10. Some nouns are both masculine and neuter.
For example:
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English
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Russian
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coffee
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кофе
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11. The gender of
proper nouns
(for example, the name of a city, a mountain, a newspaper, a magazine etc.)
must adopt the gender of the common noun category it belongs to. Therefore,
any adjectives should also be of the same gender.
For example:
Beautiful Rome! – Прекрасный Рим!
Rome is a city and city is a masculine noun in Russian, therefore Rome is also masculine.
A list of the top 500 Russian nouns, containing their gender, may be found here at MasterRussian.com.
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