{"id":132,"date":"2008-05-14T10:20:02","date_gmt":"2008-05-14T14:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=132"},"modified":"2014-07-16T17:46:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-16T17:46:00","slug":"%d0%bf%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b5%d0%b6%d0%b8-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-russian-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/%d0%bf%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b5%d0%b6%d0%b8-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-russian-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"\u041f\u0430\u0434\u0435\u0436\u0438: everything you ever wanted to know about Russian cases!"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Today I woke up to find hundreds of posters taped up on the walls inside of the dormitory building where I live. Though the service adverticed by Tomas Life Coaching<\/strong><\/a> is clearly not directed at me (it is actually rather unclear as to whom it is directed, but I guess we shouldn\u2019t get further into that) it caught my attention nevertheless. How? And why? The answer is simple \u2013 it\u2019s attention-grabbing employing of three dative compositions in one tiny sentence. This awoke an old dream of mine to write a post about the six loveble cases of Russian language, and try to sort things out as much as possible (because there\u2019s always some serious sorting out needed when it comes to the Russian cases, no matter if you\u2019ve studied it for ten years or ten weeks). Let\u2019s take the sentence above and work on it for a while like an example of \u2018sorting out\u2019: first up we\u2019ve got the verb \u00ab\u0443\u0447\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> which when paired with a noun in dative form means \u201cto teach\u201d [\u00ab\u044f \u0443\u0447\u0443<\/span> \u0442\u0435\u0431\u044f <\/span>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0443 \u044f\u0437\u044b\u043a\u0443<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> = I teach you Russian], but when paired with one in accusative form \u201cto study, to learn\u201d [\u00ab\u044f \u0443\u0447\u0443<\/span> \u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u044f\u0437\u044b<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> = I study Russian]. Next up is an impersonal construction using an adverb predicatively, in this case \u00ab\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0437\u043d\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> (useful, healthy, good), which next to a noun in dative forms tells something about this noun, rather than the other way around [\u00ab\u0435\u043c\u0443<\/span> \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0437\u043d\u043e \u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c \u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0443 \u043f\u043e \u0443\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> = it is healthy for him to eat porridge in the mornings]. The last so called (in my vocabulary) \u2018dative composition\u2019<\/em>, includes the brand new word of \u00ab\u0442\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433\u00bb<\/strong> (taken straight from the English word \u201ctraining\u201d and plainly Russified to fit the Russian language), and pairs it with the \u00ab\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u00bb <\/strong>[preposition] \u00ab\u043f\u043e\u00bb<\/strong>, which can be paired both with dative and accusative. What we\u2019re focusing on in this case is, of course, what it means when with a noun in dative. \u00ab\u0422\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u043f\u043e \u0441\u043e\u0431\u043b\u0430\u0437\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u044e\u00bb <\/strong>(do note that no stress falls on the preposition in this expression), is grammatically speaking the same as \u00ab\u0442\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u043f\u043e \u0431\u043e<\/span>\u043a\u0441\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [training in boxing, box training] or \u00ab\u0442\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433 \u043f\u043e \u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044e\u00bb<\/strong> [training in swimming, swim training]. In this context the preposition in need of dative can be translated as \u201con (in the field of)\u201d.<\/p>\n


\nIn English a noun doesn\u2019t have any other forms but genitive and plural, which is probably one of the reasons as to why it was chosen to be \u2018the world language\u2019<\/em>. In Russian it\u2019s a little bit trickier than that \u2013 Russian nouns are declined, a process called \u00ab\u0441\u043a\u043b\u043e\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [declension], which gives the words different endings, in singular and in plural in six cases: \u0438\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436<\/strong> [nominative], \u0440\u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436<\/strong> [genitive], \u0434\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436<\/strong> [dative], \u0432\u0438\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436 <\/strong>[accusative], \u0442\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436<\/strong> [instrumental], and \u043f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436 <\/strong>[prepositional].<\/p>\n

\u0418\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436 (\u043a\u0442\u043e? \u0447\u0442\u043e?)<\/strong>: nominative presents the noun in it\u2019s original form, the form in which words are given in dictionaries.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041e\u043d\u0430<\/span> \u0432\u0440\u0430\u0447\u00bb<\/strong> – she\u2019s a doctor.
\n\u00ab\u0412\u0440\u0430\u0447 \u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u0435\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> – the doctor is working.<\/p>\n

\u0420\u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436 (\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e? \u0447\u0435\u0433\u043e?)<\/strong>: genitive shows the owner of an object, as well as the absence of something.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0421\u043e\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0430 \u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0447\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> – the boy\u2019s dog.
\n\u00ab\u041d\u0435\u0442 \u0441\u043e\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0438 \u0437\u0434\u0435\u0441\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> – there is no dog here.
\n\u00ab\u041c\u0430<\/strong>\u043b\u044c\u0447\u0438\u043a\u0430 \u0442\u0443\u0442 \u043d\u0435\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> – the boy is not here.<\/p>\n

\u0414\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436 (\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0443? \u0447\u0435\u043c\u0443?)<\/strong>: dative can show, for example, the indirect object of an action.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041c\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0430\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0430 \u0441\u043e\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u0443 \u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0447\u0438\u043a\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> – mom gave a dog to the boy.
\n\u00ab\u041c\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0430 \u0440\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043b\u0430<\/span> \u0441\u044b<\/span>\u043d\u0430 \u043c\u0443<\/span>\u0436\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> – mom gave birth to a son for [her] husband.
\n\u00ab\u041c\u0443\u0436 \u043a\u0443\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u043b \u0441\u0443<\/span>\u043c\u043a\u0443 \u043e\u0442 Louis Vuitton \u0435\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> – the husband bought a Louis Vuitton bag for her.<\/p>\n

\u0412\u0438\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436 (\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e? \u0447\u0442\u043e?)<\/strong>: accusative is both the trickiest case (because male nouns describing things remain in their nominative forms while male nouns describing humans take their genitive form in it<\/em>) and the easiest \u2013 it shows the direct object.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u042f \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0436\u0443 \u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0447\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> – I see the boy.
\n\u00ab\u041c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0447\u0438\u043a \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0442 \u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0432\u0443\u0448\u043a\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> – the boys sees the girl.
\n\u00ab\u041e\u043d \u043e\u0442\u043a\u0440\u044b\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442 \u043e\u043a\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> – he opens the window.<\/p>\n

\u0422\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436 (\u043a\u0435\u043c? \u0447\u0435\u043c?)<\/strong>: instrumental can be difficult at first for a foreigner, especially one coming from a native tongue without any cases, as it thouroughly changes the word, adding a (sometimes even stressed<\/em>) large ending. It can stand for the object with which an action is performed.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span> \u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0435\u0442 \u043a\u0430\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0430\u0448\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> – she writes with a pencil.
\n\u00ab\u043c\u044b \u0435<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043c \u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0435\u0437\u0434\u043e\u043c\u00bb <\/strong>– we go by train.
\n\u00ab\u0421\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435<\/span>\u0439 \u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u0435\u0442 \u0442\u0440\u0430\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> – Sergey works as a tractor driver.<\/p>\n

\u041f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436 (\u043e \u043a\u043e\u043c? \u0433\u0434\u0435? \u043e \u0447\u0451\u043c?)<\/strong>: prepositional shows, for example, the place where someone or something is located. This case can only be paired with such prepositions as \u0432<\/strong> [in], \u043d\u0430<\/strong> [on], \u043e<\/strong> [about].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041e\u043d \u0436\u0438\u0432\u0451<\/span>\u0442 \u0432 \u041c\u0430\u0433\u0430\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> – he lives in Magadan.
\n\u00ab\u041e\u043d\u0438<\/span> \u0443<\/span>\u0447\u0430\u0442\u0441\u044f \u043d\u0430 \u0444\u0438\u043b\u043e\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0444\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c \u0444\u0430\u043a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> – they study at the faculty of philosophy.
\n\u00ab\u042f \u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044e<\/span> \u043e \u043d\u0451\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> – I talk about him.<\/p>\n

Some Russian words of foreign origin, like \u00ab\u043c\u0435\u0442\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [subway], \u00ab\u0442\u0430\u043a\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u00bb <\/strong>[taxi], are not declined according to these rules.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0421\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u0435<\/span>\u0445\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043d\u0430 \u043c\u0435\u0442\u0440\u043e<\/span>?\u00bb<\/strong> – how long does it take to go by subway?
\n\u00ab\u0414\u0430\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0439\u0442\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043c \u043d\u0430 \u0442\u0430\u043a\u0441\u0438<\/span>!\u00bb<\/strong> – let\u2019s take a cab!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I woke up to find hundreds of posters taped up on the walls inside of the dormitory building where I live. Though the service adverticed by Tomas Life Coaching is clearly not directed at me (it is actually rather unclear as to whom it is directed, but I guess we shouldn\u2019t get further…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-language"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6046,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions\/6046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}