Genitive Case (Родительный падеж)
1. Possession
2. Absence/Negation
Masculine
Endings:
-а, -я (or -ы/-и for nouns in -а/-я)-ов, -ев, -ей, ∅Examples:
Feminine
Endings:
-ы, -и∅, -ей (some lexical exceptions)Examples:
Neuter
Endings:
-а, -я∅, -ейExamples:
Questions:
Examples:
Whose book is this? → The teacher's book.
How many students? → Five students.
With Numbers
- • два студента (2 students)
- • пять книг (5 books)
- • много времени (a lot of time)
- • мало денег (little money)
With Prepositions
- • из (from, out of)
- • с (from a surface or на-destination; genitive)
- • от (from a person, away from something)
- • до (until, up to)
- • без (without)
- • для (for, for the sake of)
- • после (after)
- Think "of/from" - genitive shows relationship or origin
- Absent nouns use genitive with нет / не было / не будет; не with an ordinary verb does not always require genitive.
- In nominative/inanimate accusative counting: final 2–4 usually takes genitive singular, final 5–9 or 0 genitive plural; 11–14 takes genitive plural. Final 1 outside 11 requires singular agreement in the phrase’s case: одна книга, but купить одну книгу.
- Many prepositions require genitive: из, от, до, без, для, после
- Dates: "15-го января" (of the 15th of January)
Build singular and plural forms
Start with the dictionary form. Consonant-ending masculine nouns add -а; masculine -й/-ь and neuter -е normally take -я. Neuter -о becomes -а. Masculine папа → папы (dad → of dad) follows the -а declension instead.
Replace feminine -а with -ы, but write -и after г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ: книга → книги (book → of a book). Feminine -я and -ь take -и: неделя → недели (week → of a week), ночь → ночи (night → of a night). With -ия, the result is -ии: история → истории (story → of a story).
If needed, swipe sideways to see all columns.
| Pattern | Singular → genitive | Plural → genitive |
|---|---|---|
| Hard masculine: -ов | стол → стола — of a table | столы → столов — of tables |
| Unstressed -ев after -й | музей → музея — of a museum | музеи → музеев — of museums |
| Soft masculine: -ей | учитель → учителя — of a teacher | учителя → учителей — of teachers |
| Feminine -ь: -ей | ночь → ночи — of a night | ночи → ночей — of nights |
| Zero ending | книга → книги — of a book | книги → книг — of books |
| Zero, with inserted vowel | окно → окна — of a window | окна → окон — of windows |
| Neuter -е: often -ей | море → моря — of a sea | моря → морей — of seas |
Plural endings are tendencies. Compare герои → героев (heroes) with stressed края → краёв (edges); after a sibilant, врачи → врачей (doctors). Learn exceptions: друзья → друзей (friends), братья → братьев (brothers), стулья → стульев (chairs), солдаты → солдат (soldiers), яблоки → яблок (apples).
Adjectives and adjective-like possessives must agree: новый дом → нового дома (of a new house), моя книга → моей книги (of my book), мои новые книги → моих новых книг (of my new books). Masculine/neuter adjectives take -ого/-его, feminine -ой/-ей, plural -ых/-их. Possessive его, её, их do not change: нет его книги — his book is missing.
Possession, sources, absence, and counting
У моего брата есть машина — my brother has a car. У takes a genitive owner, but the possessed thing is nominative. Compare У моего брата нет машины — my brother has no car: нет requires genitive for what is absent. Personal pronouns include у меня, у тебя, у нас; third-person forms gain н after у: у него, у неё, у них.
For sources, pair в → из: из школы — from school; на → с: с работы — from work. Use от for a person or movement away from something: от врача — from the doctor; от окна — away from the window. All three take genitive in these source meanings; с can take instrumental in its different “with” meaning.
Много книг (many books) uses genitive plural; много воды (much water) uses genitive singular for a mass noun. In nominative or inanimate accusative counting phrases, 2–4 selects genitive singular, and 5–20 genitive plural. A final 1 outside 11 requires singular agreement in the phrase’s case: nominative одна книга / двадцать одна книга — one / twenty-one books; inanimate accusative купить одну книгу / двадцать одну книгу — to buy one / twenty-one books.
For compound numerals, inspect the final part, but 11–14 override the final digit. Nominative examples: 21 книга, 22 книги, 25 книг, 111 книг, 114 книг. These are not universal rules for every case: к двум книгам — toward two books — has dative forms. Animate accusative also needs separate treatment. With adjectives, compare два новых дома (two new houses), две новые книги (two new books), пять новых книг (five new books).
Check yourself
Choose the form before opening each answer.
1. Complete: Здесь нет ___ (новая книга).
Здесь нет новой книги. — There is no new book here. Нет requires genitive; книга becomes книги after к, and the feminine adjective becomes новой.
2. After много, change окна, музеи, ночи, друзья.
Много окон, музеев, ночей, друзей. — Many windows, museums, nights, friends. Окон has a zero ending and inserted о; музеев takes -ев, ночей takes -ей, and друзей is irregular.
3. Complete: У ___ (он) есть ___ (машина); у ___ (он) нет ___ (машина).
У него есть машина; у него нет машины. — He has a car; he has no car. У governs него in both sentences; only the absent car changes to genitive after нет.
4. Count books in the nominative: 22, 112, 121. Which noun forms?
22 книги, 112 книг, 121 книга. — Twenty-two, one hundred twelve, one hundred twenty-one books. Final 2 selects genitive singular except in 12; final 1 outside 11 requires singular agreement, here nominative. In inanimate accusative, use купить сто двадцать одну книгу — to buy one hundred twenty-one books.
Targeted practice
- Genitive Case: Basic Forms 1 — noun/adjective agreement.
- Genitive Case: Possession 1 — possession phrases.
- Advanced Noun Endings and Governed Forms — tackle plurals and fleeting vowels.
- Numerals: Foundations 1 — practise counting, including 11–14.