In the modern literary Russian language, nouns are characterized by the presence of declension - changes in numbers and cases. And if the number indicates an indefinite number of objects of the same type, then the case is a category that indicates the syntactic function of the noun in the sentence and its relationship with other words.
Noun cases: direct and indirect
There are six cases in Russian, of which the nominative is direct, and all the rest (genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental and prepositional) are indirect. Nouns in the nominative case are always used without a preposition, in other cases - both with and without a preposition. An exception is the prepositional case, which does not form an unprepositional form. Prepositions with case forms of nouns help 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 table1).
Noun cases: table 1
| Case | Questions | |||
| for animate nouns | for inanimate nouns | |||
|
Head. Rod.fall. Data drop. Vinit.pad. Creative drop. Offer drop. |
Who? Who? Who? Who? Who? About whom? |
Cat Cat (at the cat) Cat (to the cat) Cat (for a cat) Cat (with cat) About the cat |
What? What? What? What? What? About what? |
Table Stola (at the table) The table (on the table) Table (on the table) Table (under the table) On the table |
Noun cases: details of each
Nominative
This case is the initial, original 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, application, appeal, the nominal part of the complex nominal predicate, the main member in denominative sentences, for example: It's raining outside the window.
Genitive
This case can take on different meanings depending on whether it is a verbal or adjective:
- applying genitive candesignate the relationship of belonging, the relationship of part to the whole, quality assessment: fox tail, tree branch, man of honor;
- genitive case in a verb phrase usually indicates the object of action: drink water, be deprived of an opportunity, not tell the truth.
Dative
This case form denotes the addressee of the action, that is, the one to whom the action is directed: go to the house, give it to a friend.
Accusative
While other cases of nouns can be used with both nouns and verbs, the accusative case is located mainly after transitive verbs and denotes the object of the action: set the table, see the mother, do the work.
Instrumental
This case form denotes the instrument of the action (write with a pencil), the place and time of the action (to go in the field), the mode of action (to fly in a whirlwind), the person performing the action (made by the father, written by Pushkin), etc.
Prepositional case
This case in a sentence indicates the subject of speech or thought (talking about brother), the place/space within which the action is performed (living in the house), the state of the subject of speech (spread out 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, the preposition is present or absent with the noun in the form of one or another case. Context also plays an important role. Fixed assets,with the help of which cases are determined, - endings and questions for a particular case form.
