Russian Grammar 106 – Accusative Case

The Accusative case is used to show the direct object of the sentence. The noun must take an accusative form after verbs such as: читать (to read), понимать (to understand), знать (to know), видеть (to see), любить (to love) и и т.д.

Nouns in accusative form answer the questions: кого? – whom? , что? – what?

One of the most important aspects of the accusative case is to understand what noun is animate and what one is inanimate!
Animate nouns are all nouns that describe someone alive like a cat, a bird or a man. Inanimate nouns are anything else that does not walk (or fly, swim, run..), breathe and eat: a flower, a table, a building etc.
For animate nouns the question to answer would be: кого? – whom?; for inanimate nouns the question to answer would be: что? – what?

Example:

Я знаю этот дом – I know this house
Я люблю маму – I love my mom.

The accusative form of an inanimate noun (masculine and neuter) has the same form as the nominative case.

Example:

Это суп – this is a soup (masculine noun nominative case singular), answer the question “What?”
Я не люблю суп – I don’t like soup (masculine noun accusative case singular), answer the question “What?”
Вот словарь – It is a dictionary (masculine noun that ends on soft sign “ь” singular form nominative Case)
Ты видишь словарь? – do you see a dictionary? (masculine noun accusative case singular).

Let’s revise now how to form a plural in nominative case:

Вот супы – Here are some soups (masculine noun nominative case plural form)
Я не вижу супы – I don’t see any soups (masculine accusative case plural form of the noun)

The same thing happens with neutral.

Example:

Это окно – this a window (neutral nominative case singular ends with “o”)
Я вижу окно – I see the window (neutral accusative case singular)
Вот море – This is a sea (neutral nominative case singular ends with “е”)
Ты любишь море? – Do you like the sea? (neutral accusative case singular, ends with “е”)

And this is how to form plural for the neutral nouns.

Example:

Вот окна – here are windows (neutral nominative case plural, ends with “a”)
Я вижу окна – I see windows (neutral accusative case plural, ends with “a”)
Вот моря – here are seas (neutral nominstive case plural, ends with” я”)
Я люблю моря – I love seas (neutral accusative case plural, ends with ” я”).

Pay attention now to how the endings are changing in accusative case for feminine animate and inanimate nouns:
А – У
Я – Ю

Examples:

Это гора – this is a mountain (feminine noun nominative case singular ends with”a”)
Я люблю эту гору – I love this mountain (feminine noun accusative case singular, the ending changes to “у”)
Моя подруга Юля – my friend Julia (feminine noun nominative case singular, the ending is “a”)
Ты видишь мою подругу Юлю? – do you see my friend Julia? (feminine noun accusative case, singular form, the ending changes to “Ю”).

Attention! All feminine and masculine nouns that end with the sign “ь” in accusative case do not change!

EXERCISE: 106 Accusative case | NEXT: 107 Genitive case