Russian Grammar
Nouns: Genitive Case

The Genitive Case - (Possession)

The primary use of the genitive case is to show possession. In English we often indicate this with an apostrophe (‘s), or the word “of”. Grammatically, the definition of possession may be larger than we are used to thinking of in English. In Russian the possessor always follows the object it possess. (This is the reverse of the normal English ‘s).

For example in the sentence “this is Adam’s dog”, the word “Adam” is in the genitive case. But to convert it to Russian you should think of it like “the dog of Adam’s”, placing the possessor after the object.

You should also use the genitive in most cases where you would use the word “of” in English.

You should use the genitive case for words, where in English you could place “some” or “any” before them.

The genitive is commonly used after negation.

Forming the Genitive Case

Masculine Nouns:
1. If the noun ends in a consonant, add “а”.
2. Replace “й”, with “я”.
3. Replace “ь”, add “я”.

Feminine Nouns:
1. Replace “а” with “ы”.
2. Replace “я” with “и”.
3. Replace “ь” with “и”.

Neuter Nouns:
1. Replace “о” with “а”
2. Replace “е” with “я”

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