Dictionary of Spoken Russian/Russian-English/Section 6
§6. NOUNS
Gender. Nouns are divided into three genders, according to the shape of the adjectives, pronouns, and verbs that go with them:
masculine (M): этот стол "this table"
feminine (F): эта книга "this book"
neuter (N): это перо "this pen"
Number. Each noun has forms for two numbers: singular (S) and plural (P), much as in English: стол "table," столы "tables." Some nouns occur only in the singular: молоко "milk"; and some occur only in plural: ножницы "scissors", чернила "ink." The distinctions of gender are absent in the plural: эти столы "these tables," эти книги "these books," эти перья "these pens," эти чернила "this ink."
Case. Each noun has, both in the singular and in the plural, six case forms, each of which is used according to the relation of the noun to the other words in the sentence. The cases are nominative (n), accusative (a), genitive (g), dative (d), instrumental (i), and locative (l).
The nominative is a subject, both with and without verbs: брат ушёл "brother has gone away," брат дома "brother is at home." It is used also for a predicate noun when neither the beginning nor the end of the state is involved: Иван солдат "John is a soldier."
The accusative is the normal object of verbs: он взял книгу "he took the book." It is used in some expressions for duration and distance traversed: он жил целый год в Америке "he lived a whole year in America"; мы прошли километр "we walked a kilometer." A few impersonal expressions have an accusative object: мне надо эту кнгу "I need this book." A few prepositions have an accusative object; see §31.
A possessor is genitive: книга моего брата "my brother's book," его книга "his book"; as in English, this includes an object whose part is named: лицо моего брата "my brother's face"; ножки стола "the legs of the table." The genitive forms of the personal pronouns (§21) are not used in this way; instead there are possessive adjectives (§15): моя книга "my book," он взял свою книгу "he took his (own) book," but, with g, он взял его книгу "he took his (another man's) book." The g is used for a divisible substance or set when only some of it is involved: стакан воды "a glass of water," много денег "lots of money," мало времени "little (of) time." It is used for the object of a verb when only a part is involved: дайте мне хлеба (сахару, -воды) "give me some bread (some sugar, some water)." The subject of negative impersonal expressions of existence is g: там нет стола "there's no table there." The object of a negated verb is usually g: я не читал этой книги "I haven't read this book." A few verbs take a g object: она боится грозы "she is afraid of the thunderstorm"; a few have their object in the g when it is indefinite: мы ищем удобной квартиры "we are looking for a comfortable apartment," but, with a, мы ищем квартиру гражданина Ильина "we are looking for Citizen Ilyin's apartment." Comparative adjectives have the object of comparison g: он старше своего брата "he is older than his brother" (also, он старше чем брат, with n after чем "than"). A few adjectives have a g object: карман полон денег "the pocket is full of money." Time when, in a few expressions, is g: я приехал третьего сентября "I arrived on the third of September." Most prepositions take an object in the g case; §31. For the g with numbers, see §22.
The dative case is used for the second (usually personal) object of verbs that take tow objects: он дал книги отцу "he gave the book (a) to his father (d)." Some verbs with one object have it d: он помогает брату "he helps his brother"; so especially some verbs whose subject is not necessarily personal but whose object is a person: брату нравится Москва "Moscow pleases our brother; brother likes Moscow"; что вам снилось? "what appeared to you in a dream? What did you dream?" With most impersonal expressions, especially predicative adjectives, the person affected is d: мне холодно "it's cold to me; I feel cold"; нам надо денег "to us there is need of money; we need some money"; мне сорок лет "to me forty years; I'm forty years old", мне пора "it's time for me (to go)." A few adjectives have a d object: я рад случаю "I'm glad of the opportunity." A few preposition like a d object; §3l.
The instrumental case tells the means: он пишет карандашом "he writes with pencil"; also the respect: он родом руский "he is a Russia by family." A predicate noun is i when the beginning or end of the state is involved: он был солдатом "he was (then) a soldier; he has been a soldier" but, with n, он был солдат "he (as, a stranger with whose earlier and later states we are not concerned) was a soldier." The actor of a passive expression is i: письмо написано отцсом "the letter was written by my father"; so especially with impersonal expression: избу зажгло молнией "it (impresonal) set the hut (a) on fire with lighting (i); the hut was set on fire by lightning." A few verbs take an i object: он правил автомобилем "he was driving the automobile" A few expressions of time when are i: зимой "in winter," днём "in the daytime; in the afternoon." A few prepositions take an i object; §31.
The locative case occurs only as the object of a few prepositions; §31.
Animate and Inanimate. There is a distinction between animate nouns, which denote a living being, and inanimate nouns, which do not. This distinction appears chiefly in the a form: in all plurals and in one large class of masculine singular nouns, the a of animates is like the g, and the a of inanimates is like the n. Thus, the n is книги "books" and the a has the same form: я вижу книги "I see the books"; the n люди "people" has by its side the g людей, and the a has this latter form: я вижу людей "I see people." Only in a few fixed expressions is the a plural of animates like the n: он поехал в гости "he went among the guests; he has gone on a visit"; compare: я вижу гостей "I see the guests."
Thus we have for each noun six singular form and five plural forms: ns (nominative singilar), as, gs, ds, is, ls; np (nominative plural), gp, dp, ip, lp, the accusative plural (ap) having the same form either as the np or as the gp.
Declensions. There are four types of nouns inflection; we call them declensions. Same nouns, however, do not change their form for the various cases and numbers; these nouns are indeclinable (indecl). Thus, the N noun пальто "overcoat" is the same for all cases and both numbers.
In all four types of declension the dp, ip, and lp have the same endings: dp, [-am], ip [-amji], lp [-ax]; when the endings are stressed, the stress is on the [a]: к столам "on the tables," под столами "under the tables," на столах "on the tables." Only a very few nouns have a different ip ending.
Ordinarily a preposition before its object is unstressed, but in some special expressions a noun stressed on the first syllable loses its stress after a preposition, which receives the stress: он держал котёнка за голову [za g'l'vu] "he held the kitten by its head"; §31.
Certain combinations of prepositions plus noun, usually with special meanings, are run together in writing: верх "top, upper part," наверху "on top, upstairs"; муж "husband," замужен "married" (of a woman).
Class of Nouns. Nouns are given in the dictionary in the ns form: стол "table." The gender and declension are shown as follows by the shape of the ns form and the gender marks:
-а, -я, with no gender sign: the noun is F, of declension 1: сила, пуля
-а, -я, with the sign M: the noun is M, of declension 1: слуга M, дядя M
-а -я, with the sign M, F, the noun is of declension 1 and is M when it means a male, F when it means a female: сирота M, F "orphan"
-я with the sign N: the noun is N, of declension 4: имя N
-о, -е, with no gender sign: the noun is N, of declension 3: слово, поле, ружьё
-о, -е, with the sign M: the noun is M, of declension 3: домище M "big house"
Hard consonant, except ж, ш, with no gender sign: the noun is M, declension 2: стол
-й, with no gender sign: the noun is M, declension 2: музей
-ж, -ч, -ш, -щ, with the sign M: the noun is M, declension 2: нож M, ключ M
-жь, -чь, -шь, -щь, with the sign F: the noun is F, declension 4: рожь F, вешь F
Soft consonant, with the sign M: the noun is M, declension 2: руль M (except only путь M "road," which in M, declension 4)
Soft consonant, with the sign F: the noun is F, declension 4: грязь F
Nouns which occur only in plural form are given in the np with indication of the gp and the sign P: ножницы, -ниц P "scissors."
Indeclinable nouns are marked indecl, with a gender sign: палто indecl N.
In nouns of Declensions 2 and 4 the ns form has no ending and therefore fails to show whether the stress in the remaining forms is on the stem or on the endings. When the stress is on the endings we therefore always show the gs ending with an accent mark:
факт (all forms stress the stem: gs факта, np факты, and so on); стол, -а (all forms stress the ending: gs стола, np столы, and so on).
The ns form of these nouns also fails to show whether the last vowel is an inserted vowel. When the last vowel is an inserted vowel we therefore always show the gs form:
кузнец, (-а) "smith" (no inserted vowel: gs кузнеца, np кузнецы,
and so on);
перец (-рца) (the е is an inserted vowel: gs перца, ds перцу,
and so on);
отец (-тца) (the е is an inserted vowel: gs отца, np отцы, and
so on).
Two accent marks mean that the stress is in either place: броня means that in all the forms the word is spoken with either stress: ns броня or броня, np брони or брони, and so on.
Shifting Accent. Quite a few nouns are irregular in their stress, which is in different places in different forms.
1. Some nouns shift their stress in the P forms; we indicate this by showing the np with the sign P before it:
сад, P -ы: the S forms stress the stem, gs сада, and so on; the
P forms stress the endings, np сады, gp садов, dp садам,
and so on;
жена, P жёны: the S forms stress the endings, as жену, gs
жены, and so on; the P forms stress the stem, np жёны, gp
жён, dp жёнам, and so on.
2. Some nouns stress the stem in the S forms and in the np, but the endings in the other P forms; for these, we show the np and gp with the sign P before them:
вещь (P -щи, -щёй: gs вещи, is вещью, np вещи, but gp вещей, dp вещам, and so on).
3. Sometimes the gp has an irregular stress; then we give the np, gp, and dp, with the sign P before them:
сестра (P сёстры, сестёр, сёстрам): the S forms stress the endings, as сестру, gs сестры, and so on; the P forms stress the stem, except for the gp, which stresses the inserted vowel.
4. Other, less common shifts of stress are indicated by citation. For instance, some nouns in declension 1 which stress the endings in the S forms stress the stem in the as: голова, a голову, P головы, голов, головам.
An irregular accentuation given in parentheses is optional:
приз (P -ы): the S forms stress the stem, gs приза, and so on; the P forms are stressed either way, np призы or призы, gp призов or призов, and so on.
рукопись (P -си, -сёй) F: the S forms and the np stress the stem, gs and np рукописи, but the remaining P forms stress either way, gp рукописей or рукописей, dp рукописям or рукописям, and so on.
Irregular Forms. The dictionary indicates all irregular forms.
1. Some nouns have a different stem in the P forms from that of the S forms; we indicate this by showing the np, gp, and dp with the sign P before them:
брат, P братья, -тьев, -тьям: the S forms are regular, gs брата, ds брату, and so on; the P forms are made from a stem [bratjy-] and the np has the irregular ending [-а]; the gp is братьев, dp братьям, ip братьями, lp братьях.
2. Special irregular forms are shown separately;
лошадь, P -ди, -дёй, ip лошадьми F: the S forms are regular, gs лошади; the P has shifting stress, np лошади, but gp лошадей, dp лошадям, lp лошадях, and the ip has the entirely irregular form, as given.
Irregular forms between slanted lines are optional:
адрес (/P -a., -ob/): the P forms are either regular, np адресы ("speeches"), gp адресов, and so on, or else they stress the endings and have the irregular np ending [-а], np адреса ("designations of places"), gp адресов, dp адресам, and so on.