The Russian Genitive Case: Endings & Examples

The genitive is the workhorse of Russian: it covers possession, "of" something, absence ("there is no..."), quantities and a long list of prepositions. After the nominative and accusative, it is the case you will meet most.

What the genitive case does

The genitive answers кого? / чего? - "of whom?" / "of what?" Its core meaning is possession and the English "of": «книга студента» ("the student's book" / "the book of the student"), «центр города» ("the center of the city").

It also marks absence and negation of existence: «у меня нет времени» ("I have no time") and «здесь нет воды» ("there is no water here") both use the genitive after нет. And it shows quantity: «стакан воды» ("a glass of water"), «много книг» ("many books").

When to use it: prepositions and triggers

Many common prepositions always take the genitive: без (without), у (at / by / "to have"), до (until / up to), от (from), из (out of), с in the sense of "off / from", для (for), около (near), после (after) and вокруг (around).

Beyond prepositions, the genitive follows нет / не было / не будет (absence), numbers and quantity words (два, пять, много, мало, несколько), and dates ("the 5th of May"). When in doubt about "of", absence or amount, the genitive is usually the answer.

Prepositions that trigger the Genitive

без, у, до, от, из, с (со), для, около, после, вокруг

Genitive singular endings

Masculine and neuter nouns take -а (hard) or -я (soft); feminine nouns take -ы (hard) or -и (soft). Remember the spelling rule: after к, г, х, ж, ч, ш, щ you must write -и, so книга becomes книги, not книгы.

Genitive endings (singular)
Gender	Hard stem	Soft stem	Note / example
Masculine	-а	-я	стола, коня
Feminine	-ы	-и	after к г х ж ч ш щ use -и (книги)
Neuter	-а	-я	окна, моря

Example sentences

Это книга студента.
Eto kniga studenta.
This is the student's book.
У меня нет времени.
U menya net vremeni.
I have no time.
Стакан воды, пожалуйста.
Stakan vody, pozhaluysta.
A glass of water, please.
Я из России.
Ya iz Rossii.
I am from Russia.
Это подарок для мамы.
Eto podarok dlya mamy.
This is a present for mom.
Около дома есть парк.
Okolo doma yest park.
There is a park near the house.
После работы я отдыхаю.
Posle raboty ya otdykhayu.
After work I relax.
У него нет машины.
U nego net mashiny.
He has no car.

Practice: which case is it?

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У меня нет времени.

U menya net vremeni.

Why is «времени» in this case?

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FAQ

When do you use the genitive case in Russian?

Use the genitive for possession and "of" (книга студента), for absence after нет (нет времени), for quantities (много книг), and after genitive prepositions such as без, у, до, от, из, для, около and после.

What are the genitive endings in Russian?

In the singular, masculine and neuter nouns take -а / -я and feminine nouns take -ы / -и. After к, г, х, ж, ч, ш, щ the feminine ending is spelled -и (книга -> книги).

Why does «нет» take the genitive?

«Нет» (and не было / не будет) expresses non-existence, and Russian marks the thing that does not exist with the genitive: «нет времени» (no time), «нет денег» (no money).

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Possession, "of", absence, quantity - the genitive is everywhere. Daily Cyrillic drills it in real sentences with audio and spaced repetition.

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