Genitive case of Russian nouns

The genitive case is a set of word forms (in singular and plural) the basic function of which is to show a
possessor, like the English preposition "of" in the phrase "the book of the student".
Contents
1. Uses of the Genitive
2. Formation
o 2.1. Genitive case endings
o 2.2. Genitive singular
o 2.3. Genitive plural
3. See also
Uses of the Genitive
1. To show a possession. In general, possession is shown by putting the possessor or the object one
belongs to in the genitive case form.
Example:
. This is Maria's bag.
The word (Maria's) is the genitive case form of the word (Maria) and indicates the
possessor of an object (bag).
Talking about the genitive and the ways to designate a possession, it would be worthwhile to mention a
prepositional construction which is commonly used for expressing ownership in Russian. This construction
requires the preposition (by) followed by a genitive case form. This construction may use the
verb (literally: there is, there are), but its presence is not always required. The verb is the most
frequently used if this construction emphasizes the existence of an object. If this construction emphasizes
a new information about some features (like color, size, quantity etc) of the possessed object, the verb
will most likely be absent.
Examples:
. Maria has a car. literally: By Maria there is a car.
. Maria has a red car. literally: By Maria a red car.
At the same time, the Russian language has an equivalent of the English verb "to have" , but its
range of usage is much more restricted than the above mentioned construction.
2. With quantity words and cardinal numerals.
a) after quantity words, like (many, much), (a few, not much), (several), and
words indicating a package or a measure, like "bottle", "cup", "gram", "meter" etc.
Examples:
. There is not much milk in the cup.
The word (milk) is the genitive case form of the word (milk) and it is used after
quantity word (not much).
. There are a lot of monuments in this town.
The word (of monuments) is the genitive case form of the
word (monuments) and it is used after quantity word (many, a lot of).
b) after cardinal numerals. This is a complicated use of Russian cases, because cardinal numerals may
decline themselves, which may influence on the case form of the following words. However, in simple
phrases, cardinal numerals are often followed by the genitive case, and you should devote attention to the
following situations:
- numerals 2, 3, 4 and numerals ending with 2, 3, 4 (e.g. 23, 43, 54) are followed by the genitive singular
form.
Example:
2 . There are 2 lamps in this room.
The word (lamps) is the genitive singular form of the word (lamp).
- 5 and upwards (except numerals mentioned above) are followed by the genitive plural form.
Example:
10 . I have 10 dollars.
The word (dollars) is the genitive plural form of the word (dollar).
3. In the construction with the word meaning "there is not/there are not"
Examples:
. There is no TV set in this room.
The word (TV set) is the genitive case form of the word (TV set) and it is
used in the construction with the word .
. I have no children.
The word (children) is the genitive case form of the word (children) and it is used in
the construction with the word .
4. After negated transitive verbs.
Example:
. He does not read newspapers.
The word (newspapers) is the genitive plural form of the word (newspaper) and it is
used after negated transitive verb (read).
However, this rule frequently does not apply, and the nouns after negated transitive verbs are often in the
accusative case form, particularly in conversational Russian. Thus, it is also possible to say "
", where the word (newspapers) is the accusative plural form of the
word (newspaper).
5. For food and drinks nouns meaning "some":
Examples:
? - Would you like some milk?
The word (milk) is the genitive case form of the word (milk).
. I need to buy some bread.
The word (bread) is the genitive case form of the word (bread).
6. After a large number of prepositions, the most frequent of which are:
without
for
from
- except
near/approximately
after
Formation
Here we provide general rules how to form genitive case forms from nominative singular forms. These
rules cover the vast majority of Russian nouns. However, you should be aware that rules described below
may have other exceptions.
Genitive case endings
The table below represents regular endings for singular and plural genitive case forms:
Gender Singular Plural
Masculine - / - - / - / - /
Feminine - / - / -
Neuter - / - / -
Below, you will find detailed information about genitive singular and plural forms of masculine, feminine
and neuter nouns.
Genitive singular
Masculine nouns
1. Nouns ending in a consonant add the ending -:
Examples:
- (theater)
- (park)
2. Nouns ending in - and - change the final letters to -:

Examples:
- (museum)
- (writer)
3. Masculine nouns ending in -a/- (see: Masculine nouns) form the genitive case forms following the
rules for feminine nouns (see below).
Feminine nouns
1. Nouns ending in - should change the final - to -. However, following the Spelling rule 1 nouns
ending -, -a, -, - and -, -, - can not have the ending -, and take the ending -.
Examples:
- (street)
- (problem)
BUT:
- (book)
- (post card)
- (leather)
2. Nouns ending in - and in - change the final - and - to -:
Examples:
- (week)
- (door)
- (station)
Neuter nouns
1. Nouns ending in -o change their ending to -:
Examples:
- (window)
- (arm-chair)
2. Nouns ending in - change their ending to -:
Examples:
- (sea)
- (building)
3. Nouns ending in - (see: Neuter nouns ending in -) change - to -:
Examples:
- (name)
- (time)
Genitive plural
Masculine nouns
1. Nouns ending in a consonant, except those ending -, -, -, - (see below), add the ending -:
Examples:
- (theater)
- (park)
2. Nouns ending in - change their final letter to -:
Examples:
- (museum)
- (sanatorium)
3. Nouns ending in the soft sign () and -, -, -, - add the ending - (the soft sign will disapper):
Examples:
- (writer)
- (beach)
- (doctor)
- (pencil)
4. A few masculine nouns have the genitive plural form equal to the nominative singular, i.e. they have
zero ending.
Examples:
- (eye)
- (soldier)
5. Masculine nouns ending in -a/- (see: Masculine nouns) form the genitive plural forms following the
rules for feminine nouns (see below).
Feminine nouns
1. Nouns ending in - drop this final vowel. In other words, they have zero ending:
Examples:
- (street)
- (problem)
- (book)
Note that nouns with a stem ending in two (or more) consonants need a fleeting vowel (-o- or -e-) which
is inserted before the last consonant. In most instances (but not always!), -e- is inserted if the stem end
in ///// + consonant or a soft consonant + consonant, and -- is used if the stem ends in
another combination of consonants.
Examples:
- (female student)
- (post card)
- (pen) - the stem ends in + consonant
- (song) - the stem ends ends in [s'] + consonant, i.e. soft consonant +
consnonant
2. Nouns ending in - drop this final vowel, and add the soft sign (if their stem ends in a consonant) or -
(nouns ending in - and -). These nouns are considered to have zero ending.
Examples:
- (week)
- (idea)
- (station)
3. Nouns ending in a soft sign drop the soft sign and add the ending -
Examples:
- (square)
- (door)
Neuter nouns
Most neuter nouns have zero ending: they drop the final letter to form the genitive plural. Neuter nouns
that have the stem ending in two (or more) consonants need a fleeting vowel (-o- or -e-) which is
inserted before the last consonant. The vowel -- is inserted if the stress falls on the fleeting vowel, and -
e- is used if the stress falls somewhere else in the stems:
Examples:
- (word)
- (work, business, affair)
- (window) - the fleeting vowel is stressed
- (letter) - the stress falls on the first syllable of the stem
- (armchair) - the stress falls on the first syllable of the stem)
2. Nouns ending in consonnat + e change their ending to -:
Examples:
- (sea)
- (building)
3. Nouns ending in - change the ending - to -:
Examples:
- (building)
- (exercise)
4. Nouns ending in - (see: Neuter nouns ending in -) change their ending to -:
Examples:
- (name)
- (exercise)