The Russian Nominative Case: Endings & Examples
By Daily Cyrillic · Updated
The Russian nominative case marks the subject of a sentence and dictionary forms. Its question forms are кто? что? Learn the regular noun endings with the reference table, then compare examples in complete sentences. Prepositions and verb patterns help determine the case, so practise the ending together with the expression that requires it.
Reading time: about 2 min.
- Case
- Nominative
- Question
- кто? что?
- Reference
- Singular noun endings
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What the nominative case does
The nominative answers the question кто? / что? - "who?" or "what?" It marks the subject of the sentence: the person or thing doing the action. In «студент читает» ("the student reads"), студент is nominative because the student is the one reading.
It is also the form you find in the dictionary and the form used after the verb "to be" in the present (which Russian usually leaves out): «Москва - столица» ("Moscow is the capital") - both nouns are nominative.
When to use it
Use the nominative for the subject (the doer), for naming or labeling something, and as the default "citation" form when you look a word up. No preposition ever governs the nominative - if there is a preposition, you are in a different case.
Because the nominative is the unchanged stem form, the real work in Russian is learning how the other five cases reshape it. Think of the nominative as zero - the starting point every other ending departs from.
Nominative singular endings
The nominative singular is simply the dictionary form, and its ending is what tells you the gender: a bare consonant (or -ь/-й) is usually masculine, -а/-я is usually feminine, and -о/-е is usually neuter. The table below shows the pattern.
| Gender | Hard stem | Soft stem | Note / example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | -(консонант) | -ь, -й | стол, конь, чай - the dictionary form |
| Feminine | -а | -я, -ь | книга, неделя, ночь |
| Neuter | -о | -е, -ё | окно, море |
Example sentences
Студент читает книгу.
Student chitayet knigu.
The student is reading a book.
Москва - большой город.
Moskva - bolshoy gorod.
Moscow is a big city.
Моя сестра врач.
Moya sestra vrach.
My sister is a doctor.
Окно открыто.
Okno otkryto.
The window is open.
Где автобус?
Gde avtobus?
Where is the bus?
Это мой друг.
Eto moy drug.
This is my friend.
Кофе горячий.
Kofe goryachiy.
The coffee is hot.
Собака спит.
Sobaka spit.
The dog is sleeping.
Practice: which case is it?
Practice: which case is it?
Студент читает книгу.
Why is «Студент» in this case?
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FAQ
Is the nominative the same as the dictionary form?
Can a preposition take the nominative?
Turn this guide into words you can use
Build a free Russian set for this topic, with examples and ElevenLabs AI audio.
Read the full guide
- Russian Cases: All 6 Explained
The full overview of every case with endings tables and a drill.
- Genitive
Possession, "of", absence, quantity
- Accusative
The direct object; motion with в/на
- Dative
The indirect object; "to / for" someone
- Instrumental
"With / by means of"; profession
- Prepositional
Location and topic ("about")