The 6 Russian Grammatical Cases Explained (Super Easy Guide)

If you’ve just started learning Russian, you’ve probably encountered cases.

It’s a topic that intimidates new learners but it’s actually way easier than it seems.

In this guide, I’ll give you a simple, no-fluff breakdown of the six grammatical cases in Russian.

Think of cases as a word’s role in a sentence.

In English, we show this role using word order or little words like “to”, “of”, “with”, and “at”. For example, “The boy gives the dog a bone” is clear because of the word order.

If we said, “A bone gives the dog the boy”, it would change the meaning completely (and sound silly).

Russian doesn’t rely on word order as much. Instead, it changes the endings of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives to show who is doing what to whom.

That’s what cases are.

The 6 cases of the Russian language

Here are the six cases you need to know.

I’ll explain each one, show you the key questions it answers, and give you some clear examples.

1. Nominative case (Именительный падеж)

This is the easiest one.

The Nominative case is the “default” or “dictionary” form of a word. It’s used for the subject of the sentence - the person or thing doing the action.

It answers the questions “Who?” (Кто?) or “What?” (Что?).

Студент читает книгу.

Student chitayet knigu.

The student is reading a book.

Москва большой город.

Moskva bol'shoy gorod.

Moscow is a big city.

If you’re pointing at something and naming it, you’re using the Nominative case. There are no prepositions associated with this case.

2. Genitive case (Родительный падеж)

The Genitive case has a few important jobs in Russian.

It answers the questions “Of whom?” (Кого?) or “Of what?” (Чего?).

Its main uses are:

To show possession. This is like using “‘s” or “of” in English.

Это дом моего друга.

Eto dom moyego druga.

This is my friend's house.

To show absence. When you say you don’t have something, the word for that thing goes into the Genitive case. It’s always used with нет (no, not have).

У меня нет машины.

U menya net mashiny.

I don't have a car.

For quantities. After numbers 2, 3, 4 and words like много (many/a lot) or мало (few/a little), you use the Genitive singular.

У меня два брата.

U menya dva brata.

I have two brothers.

Common prepositions for the Genitive case include: у (at/by, to have), без (without), для (for), из (from/out of), от (from), до (until/to).

3. Dative case (Дательный падеж)

The Dative case is for the indirect object. It shows who or what is the recipient of the action.

It answers the questions “To whom?” (Кому?) or “To what?” (Чему?).

Think of verbs like “to give”, “to send”, “to show”, or “to tell”. The person you’re giving, sending, showing, or telling to will be in the Dative case.

Я даю подарок моей маме.

Ya dayu podarok moyey mame.

I am giving a gift to my mother.

Он помогает своему брату.

On pomogayet svoyemu bratu.

He is helping his brother.

It’s also used to express age:

Мне тридцать лет.

Mne tridtsat' let.

I am 30 years old.

The main prepositions for the Dative case are к (towards/to a person) and по (along/according to).

4. Accusative case (Винительный падеж)

The Accusative case is used for the direct object - the thing that is directly receiving the action of the verb.

It answers the questions “Whom?” (Кого?) or “What?” (Что?).

Я читаю книгу.

Ya chitayu knigu.

I am reading a book.

Она видит улицу.

Ona vidit ulitsu.

She sees the street.

Notice that for inanimate masculine nouns and all neuter nouns, the Accusative form looks the same as the Nominative. But for feminine nouns and animate masculine nouns, the ending changes.

The Accusative is also used to show destination or direction with prepositions like в (in/to) and на (on/to).

Я иду в парк.

Ya idu v park.

I am going to the park.

Other common prepositions are через (through/across) and про (about).

5. Instrumental case (Творительный падеж)

The Instrumental case shows how or with what an action is performed.

It answers the questions “With whom?” (Кем?) or “With what?” (Чем?).

Its primary uses are:

The instrument used to do something. Think of it as meaning “by means of” or “with”.

Я пишу ручкой.

Ya pishu ruchkoy.

I write with a pen.

Accompaniment. When you do something with someone.

Я гулял с другом.

Ya gulyal s drugom.

I was walking with my friend.

Jobs and roles. With the verb быть (to be) or работать (to work as).

Он работает врачом.

On rabotayet vrachom.

He works as a doctor.

Key prepositions for the Instrumental case are с (with), под (under), над (above), and между (between).

6. Prepositional case (Предложный падеж)

This one is easy to remember because it is always used with a preposition (the name gives it away!).

It answers the questions “About whom?” (О ком?) or “About what?” (О чём?).

It is mainly used for:

Location. To say where something is (not where it’s going). This is the counterpart to the Accusative case for direction.

Я живу в России.

Ya zhivu v Rossii.

I live in Russia.

Книга на столе.

Kniga na stole.

The book is on the table.

The topic of thought or speech. When you talk or think about something.

Я думаю о тебе.

Ya dumayu o tebe.

I am thinking about you.

The most common prepositions are в (in), на (on), and о (about).

Quick summary of Russian cases

Here’s a quick-reference table to help you keep track of everything.

Case	Russian Name	Questions Answered	Main Function
Nominative	Именительный	Кто? (Who?), Что? (What?)	Subject of the sentence, the “doer”
Genitive	Родительный	Кого? (Of whom?), Чего? (Of what?)	Possession, absence, quantity
Dative	Дательный	Кому? (To whom?), Чему? (To what?)	Indirect object, recipient
Accusative	Винительный	Кого? (Whom?), Что? (What?)	Direct object, destination
Instrumental	Творительный	Кем? (With whom?), Чем? (With what?)	Tool/instrument, accompaniment
Prepositional	Предложный	О ком? (About whom?), О чём? (About what?)	Location, topic of speech/thought