In modern literary Russian, nouns are characterized by the presence of declension - changes in numbers and cases. And if a number indicates an indefinite number of objects of the same type, then case is a category that indicates the syntactic function of a noun in a sentence and its relationship with other words.
Cases of nouns: direct and indirect
There are six cases in Russian, of which the nominative is direct, and all the others (genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental and prepositional) are indirect. Nouns in the nominative case are always used without a preposition, in other cases - both with a preposition and without. An exception is the prepositional case, which does not form an unlimited form. Prepositions in case forms of nouns help to clarify the meaning of the case. Each case has its own questions that are asked in the phrase from the main word to the case form (see table 1).
Nouns: Table 1
Case | Questions |
for animated nouns | for inanimate nouns |
Im.pad. Rod.Pad. Dat. Vinit.pad. Creat.pad. Suggestion | Who! Whom? To whom? Whom? By whom? About whom? | Cat Cat (at the cat) Kotu (to the cat) Kota (on the cat) Cat (with cat) About cat | What? What? Why? What? Than? About what? | Table Tables (by the table) To the table (on the table) Table (on the table) By the table (under the table) On the table |
Nouns: details of each
Nominative case
This case is the initial, initial form of the word and serves to name objects and phenomena. So, the form of the nominative case in the sentence has such members as the subject, the application, the appeal, the nominal part of the complex nominal predicate, the main member in the nominal sentences, for example: It has begun to rain outside.
Genitive
This case can take on different meanings, depending on whether it is verbal or adopted:
- an accepted genitive can denote a relationship of belonging, a relationship of a part to the whole, a qualitative assessment: the tail of a fox, a tree branch, a person of honor;
- the genitive case in the verb phrase indicates, as a rule, the object of action: to drink water, to lose the opportunity, not to tell the truth.
Dative
This form of case indicates the addressee of the action, that is, the one to whom the action is directed: to approach the house, to transfer to a friend.
Accusative
If other cases of nouns can be used both with names and with verbs, the accusative case is located mainly after the transitional verbs and indicates the object of the action: set the table, see the mother, do the work.
Instrumental case
This case form means the instrument of action (write with a pencil), the place and time of the action (go in the field), the mode of action (fly in a whirlwind), the person performing the action (made by his father, written by Pushkin), etc.
Prepositional
This case in the sentence indicates the subject of speech or thought (talking about a brother), the place / space within which the action takes place (live in the house), the state of the subject of speech (spread in all its glory), etc.
Thus, cases of nouns can express a variety of meanings, which are specified by the fact that the name or verb form is next to the case form, whether or not the preposition is present or absent in a noun in the form of a case. Context also plays an important role. The fixed assets by which cases are determined are endings and questions for a particular case form.