Russian Articles

How to use the nominative case in Russian?

By: Alisa Vereshchagin Fri Feb 28 2025

Cases, Nouns, Adjectives

In Russian, we use the nominative case to show which noun in the sentence is the subject. It is generally the first case that a Russian learner will encounter.

The nominative case is one of six cases in Russian, the others being the genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, and prepositional cases. A noun’s case will tell you not only its grammatical endings but also the role that the noun has in a sentence. Learning to use cases appropriately is, therefore, a very important part of learning Russian.

In this post, we will introduce you to the forms of nominative nouns, discuss when you use the nominative case, briefly compare the nominative case to the accusative case, and provide examples of its use in context.

What is the nominative case in Russian?

In Russian, the nominative case form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective is its most basic form. When you open up a Russian dictionary, you will therefore find nouns, pronouns, and adjectives listed in the nominative case.

What are the singular and plural endings for nominative nouns in Russian?

The singular and plural endings for nouns in the nominative case are listed in the chart below. Notice that by looking at the nominative singular form (the form you’ll find in a dictionary) you can usually determine (a) the noun’s gender and (b) the plural ending you should use.

Russian singular and plural noun endings in nominative case
Gender	Singular endings (dictionary form)	Plural endings	Examples
Gender	Singular endings (dictionary form)	Plural endings	Singular	Plural	Translation
Feminine	-я[ya]	-и[i]	семья[siM’ya]	семьи[S’EM’yi]	family/families
	-ь[‘]	-и[i]	тетрадь[tetRAt]	тетради[tetRAdi]	folder(s)
	-а[a]	-ы[y]	газета[gaZ’Eta]	газеты[gaZ’Ety]	newspaper(s)
Masculine	a consonant	-ы[y] -a[A]	компьютер[kampYUter] дом[dam]	компьютеры[kampYUtery] дома[daMA]	computer(s) house(s)
	-й[ey]	-и[i]	мyзей[MOOzey]	мyзеи[MOOzeyi]	museum(s)
	-ь[‘]	-и[i]	словарь[slaVAR’]	словари[slovaREE]	dictionary/dictionaries
Neuter	-e[e]	-я[ya]	здание[ZDAniye]	здания[ZDAniya]	building(s)
Neuter	-о[o]	-а[a]	кольцо[kal’TSO]	кольца[KOLtsa]	ring(s)

The form of a noun in the nominative singular can also tell us its declension or, in Russian, its склонение[sklaNEniye].

Put simply, a Russian word’s “declension” describes the pattern it follows when you put it into different forms that reflect its number (singular vs. plural), gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter), and case (determined by the role that the word has in the sentence).

What are the singular and plural endings for adjectives in the nominative case?

The basic singular and plural endings for Russian nominative adjectives are illustrated in the chart below:

Masculine	-ий[-iy] -ой[-Oy]
Feminine	-ая[-Aya] -яя[YAya]
Neuter	-ое[-Oye] -ее[-YEe]
Plural	-ые[-EEye] -ие[-EEye]

When should you use a nominative adjective? Any time you use an adjective to describe a nominative noun!

For a more in-depth look at when to use each nominative adjective ending, download the chart of Russian nominative adjective endings at the bottom of the page, or have a look at our article on adjectives in Russian.

What are the nominative forms of the Russian pronouns?

Pronouns in the nominative case are the same as their dictionary form. See the pronouns listed below:

Russian	English
я ya	I
ты ty	you (informal, singular)
он on	he, it (masculine)
она aNA	she, it (feminine)
оно aNO	it (neuter)
мы my	we
вы vy	you (formal / plural)
они aNEE	they

When to use the nominative case in Russian?

The nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence, to directly address someone, and sometimes for predicate nouns (nouns that follow a linking verb like “to be” or “to become”).

The subject of a sentence or a clause
The nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence, which is most commonly the noun that does the action. In a neutral Russian sentence, the subject will most often appear at the beginning, before the verb.
nominative case
Женщина читает.
ZHENshchina chiTAyet.
A woman is reading.
→ Who is reading? The woman is. The noun at the beginning of the sentence is in the nominative case because it is the subject.
Телефон звонит.
tiliFON zvaNEET.
The phone rings/is ringing.
→ What is ringing? The phone, of course!
In Russian, though, word order can often be flexible, so the subject is not always at the beginning of a sentence. For example:
nominative case
Где живёт Анна?
gdye zhyvYOT Ana?
Where does Anna live?
As you learn all of the Russian cases, keep in mind that word order in Russian is more flexible than in many other languages. This means that nominative nouns, like nouns in any case, can appear in several positions in a sentence, so we distinguish between them based on their meaning and function.
To address someone
The nominative case can also be used to address someone directly or to make a request. For example:
nominative case
Саша, приготовь борщ пожалуйста.
SAsha prigaTOF’ borshch paZHAlasta.
Sasha, cook the borscht, please.
Tip
Russian used to have a whole case just for addressing people directly, called the vocative case. The remains of this case are often used instead in everyday speech, for example:
vocative case
Саш, приготовь борщ пожалуйста.
sash prigaTOF’ borshch paZHAlasta
Sasha, cook the borscht, please.
As a predicate noun
In Russian, predicate nouns appear in the nominative case.
A predicate noun is a noun which, in English, would follow the verb “to be” in a sentence like, “John is a teacher” or “Julia was an excellent friend.”
In Russian, they appear in a similar position, but the verb “to be” can often be completely dropped or, in writing, replaced by an em-dash (—). For example:
nominative case
Мария – учительница.
maREEyaA ooCHEEtel’nitsa.
Maria — a teacher.
Мой отец – журналист.
moy aTETS zhoornaLEEST.
My father — a journalist.
In the past or future tense, though, a verb “to be” is still required in Russian.
Tip
You should also use the nominative case in possession sentences that use this structure: У меня есть _____[oo miNYA yest](I have). The literal meaning of this phrase is “at me there is ____.” This makes the owned noun the predicate of the sentence, and so the owned noun should be in the nominative case.
Check out our post on expressing possession in Russian to learn more!

Nominative vs. accusative case

As you learn more cases in Russian, you might find it challenging to keep them straight! It’s especially easy to confuse nominative nouns with nouns in the accusative case. This is because some nouns, for example, masculine inanimate ones, can look exactly the same in both cases. Take a look:

nominative case

Путь в город лежит через горы.

poot v GOrat liZHYT CHEris GOry.

The path to the city lies between the mountains.

accusative case

Камень преградил путь.

KAmen’ pirigraDEEL poot.

The rock blocked the path.

But even when the nominative and accusative cases of a noun look and sound the same, it is important to keep track of whether it is a nominative or accusative noun. This is because any adjectives that describe these nouns will still change their forms to match the case of the noun. For example:

nominative case

Тёмная ночь спустилась на землю.

tyomnaya noch spoosTEElas na zemlyu.

A dark night descended on the Earth.

accusative case

Я люблю тёмную ночь когда на небе звёзды.

ya lyublyu tyomnuyu noch kogda na nebe zvyozdi.

I love a dark night when there are stars in the sky.

So make sure you’re paying attention to how a noun is being used in a sentence and not just to its endings!

To sum up

In this post we discussed the nominative case in Russian and introduced you to the singular and plural endings of nominative nouns. In particular, we saw that nominative case…

names the subject of a sentence.
is the same as the dictionary form of a noun.
can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence.
can look like the accusative case in some instances, but will be identified based on its role in the sentence.

Ready for the next step? Try practicing the Russian nominative case using the activities below!

Downloadable Resources

Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

Activities: Nominative case Study Resource: Russian nominative noun forms Study Resource: Adjectives in the nominative case

To embark on your next language adventure, join Mango on social!

Ready to take the next step?

The Mango Languages learning platform is designed to get you speaking like a local quickly and easily.

How to use the nominative case in Russian?

Table of Contents