Need the rule behind this exercise? Read Russian cases. For the bigger picture, explore Russian grammar.
Irregular Russian Noun Declension
Practise soft stems, -мя nouns, and common irregular paradigms such as человек, люди, and год.
This is a preview of the drill content. Interactive practice loads automatically when JavaScript is available.
Browse Noun Declension practiceQuestion 1
Я часто думаю о своей ___.
English context
Choose the prepositional singular of «тетрадь» (notebook).
Options
- тетради
- тетрадью
- тетрадь
- тетрадей
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- тетради
Correct feedback
Correct. The soft-sign feminine noun has prepositional «о тетради».
Grammar rule
Feminine soft-sign nouns commonly form prepositional singular with -и: о тетради, о площади.
Question 2
Он гордится своей ___.
English context
Choose the instrumental singular of «дочь» (daughter).
Options
- дочерью
- дочью
- дочери
- дочь
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- дочерью
Correct feedback
Correct. «Дочь» has the irregular instrumental «дочерью».
Grammar rule
The feminine nouns «дочь» and «мать» have irregular oblique stems: дочер-, матер-.
Question 3
Мы помогаем ___.
English context
Choose the dative singular of «мать» (mother).
Options
- матери
- мать
- матерью
- матеря
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- матери
Correct feedback
Correct. The dative of «мать» is «матери».
Grammar rule
The noun «мать» declines with the stem матер- in oblique singular forms.
Question 4
У меня нет ___.
English context
Choose the genitive singular of «время» (time).
Options
- времени
- время
- времям
- временем
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- времени
Correct feedback
Correct. «Время» is a -мя noun with genitive «времени».
Grammar rule
The neuter -мя nouns use an expanded stem in oblique forms: время — времени, имя — имени.
Question 5
Мы доверяем этому ___.
English context
Choose the dative singular of «имя» (name).
Options
- имени
- имя
- именем
- имя́
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- имени
Correct feedback
Correct. «Имя» has dative «имени».
Grammar rule
The -мя noun «имя» declines with stem имен- outside the nominative and accusative.
Question 6
В музее много ___.
English context
Choose the genitive plural of «имя» (name).
Options
- имён
- имена
- именам
- именами
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- имён
Correct feedback
Correct. The genitive plural is «имён».
Grammar rule
Many -мя nouns form plural with -ена and genitive plural with stressed -ён: имя — имена — имён.
Question 7
В комнате сидят пять ___.
English context
Choose the special counting form of «человек» (person) after пять.
Options
- человек
- людей
- человека
- людям
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- человек
Correct feedback
Correct. The counting construction uses «пять человек».
Grammar rule
Numerals 5–20 and compounds ending in 5–9, 0, or 11–14 govern genitive plural; the counting form here is «пять человек».
Question 8
Я помогаю ___.
English context
Choose the dative plural of «люди» (people).
Options
- людям
- людей
- людьми
- люди
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- людям
Correct feedback
Correct. The irregular plural «люди» has dative «людям».
Grammar rule
Человек has the suppletive plural люди; its dative plural is людям.
Question 9
За последние пять ___.
English context
Choose the correct form of «год» after пять (year).
Options
- лет
- года
- годов
- годами
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- лет
Correct feedback
Correct. After five, «год» uses the irregular form «лет».
Grammar rule
With «год», 5–20 and compounds ending in 5–9, 0, or 11–14 use «лет»; compounds ending in 1 use «год», and those ending in 2–4 use «года», outside 11–14.
Question 10
В этом месяце тридцать один ___.
English context
Choose the nominative singular of «день» (day) in “there are 31 days this month.”
Options
- день
- дня
- дней
- днём
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- день
Correct feedback
Correct. Numbers ending in one (except eleven) take nominative singular: «тридцать один день».
Grammar rule
After numbers ending in 1, nouns generally take nominative singular: 31 день; 11 is the exception.