As a Direct Object
The direct object of a verb is a noun that’s directly affected by the action of this verb, and it answers the question whom? or what?
The words “актрису” and “телефон” below are used in the accusative case:
We saw an actress (Whom did they see?)
Мы увидели актрису
She bought a telephone (What did she buy?)
Она купила телефон
After Verbs of Motion
The accusative case is required after verbs of motion, such as идти (to go, to walk), лететь (to fly) and etc., which indicate destination toward which something or someone is moving. The noun will answer the question where (to)?
They’re flying to Moscow
Они летят в Москву
We're going to a bank
Мы идём в банк
After Days of the Week
В + the day of the week in the accusative case is used to express on what days of the week something happens:
On Monday - В понедельник
On Tuesday - Во вторник
On Wednesday - В среду
On Thursday - В четверг
On Friday - В пятницу
On Saturday - В субботу
On Sunday - В воскресенье
After Expressions of Time
1. Через + accusative is used to express in or after a certain period of time
We’re going to Moscow in a week
Мы едем в Москву через неделю
2. На + accusative is used to denote the duration of time
We’re going to Moscow for a week
Мы едем в Москву на неделю
3. Каждый or весь + accusative is used to express repetition or duration
Каждый день - Every day
Каждый год - Every year
Весь вторник - All Tuesday Весь день - All day
After Certain Prepositions
1. across / через
He walked across the street
Он перешел через дорогу
2. about / про
He’s talking about Russia
Он говорит про Россию
The table below summarises the endings and uses of the Accusative Case.
For reference, I’ve included the Nominative Case (also known as a dictionary form) to compare the endings between the two cases.
Basically, there are 2 endings in the Accusative Case singular to remember:
а/я for masculine, singular nouns that are animate (alive)
у/ю for feminine, singular nouns
In all other instances, the endings of singular nouns in the Accusative Case stay the same as in the Nominative Case (look for a blue dash). For example: Я вижу телефон (masculine, inanimate, singular).
The situation with plural nouns in the Accusative Case is a bit more challenging, sorry!
ы/и for nouns that are inanimate
ов/ей for masculine nouns that are animate and end in a consonant/-ь
(no ending)/ей for feminine nouns that are animate and end in -a/-ь
а/я for neuter nouns
Adjectives
Test your grammar
Put the words in brackets into the accusative case.
Want more practice? Check out these Russian Cases courses.
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For other cases, please check these articles:
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