The accusative marks the direct object - the thing you do something to. Answers кого? / что? (whom? / what?), and for inanimate nouns its endings are the easiest in the language (third-easiest case overall, after nominative and prepositional).
When to use it
The direct object is whatever the action is applied to directly: Я ем пиццу (I eat pizza), Я пью воду (I drink water), Я читаю книгу (I am reading a book). The “action” need not be physical - Я люблю музыку (I like music), Я хочу машину (I want a car), Я слушаю музыку (I listen to music) all put the object in the accusative.
The one nuance: animacy
The accusative is the only Russian case where it matters whether the noun is animate (people, animals) or inanimate (objects). This note covers inanimate nouns, singular and plural. (Animate accusative borrows the genitive ending - a separate lesson.)
Endings (inanimate)
- Masculine, neuter, and plural: identical to the nominative - no change at all.
- Feminine: -а → -у, -я → -ю, and -ь (soft sign) does not change.
| Noun | Nominative | Accusative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| бутерброд (m) | бутерброд | бутерброд | sandwich (no change) |
| журнал (m) | журнал | журнал | magazine (no change) |
| яблоко (n) | яблоко | яблоко | apple (no change) |
| молоко (n) | молоко | молоко | milk (no change) |
| бутерброды (pl) | бутерброды | бутерброды | sandwiches (no change) |
| вода (f) | вода | воду | water (-а → -у, stress shifts) |
| книга (f) | книга | книгу | book |
| пицца (f) | пицца | пиццу | pizza |
| песня (f, -я) | песня | песню | song (-я → -ю) |
| семья (f, -я) | семья | семью | family |
| дверь (f, -ь) | дверь | дверь | door (no change) |
| осень (f, -ь) | осень | осень | autumn (no change) |
The simple feminine rule: -а → -у, -я → -ю, soft sign stays. Watch for stress shifts (вода́ → во́ду).
Examples
- Я ем бутерброд - I am eating a sandwich (masculine, unchanged).
- Я читаю журнал - I am reading a magazine.
- Я пью воду - I am drinking water (feminine -а → -у).
- Я слушаю песню - I am listening to a song.
- Я закрываю дверь - I am closing the door (soft sign, unchanged).
- Я читаю книги - I read books (plural inanimate, unchanged).
Beyond the direct object
From the overview, the accusative also marks:
- Motion toward a place with verbs of motion and в / на: Я иду в школу (I am going to school), Она идёт в театр (she goes to the theatre).
- Days of the week: в среду (on Wednesday - среда → среду), в пятницу (on Friday).
Lessons worth keeping
- Accusative = the direct object (what the action lands on), including non-physical verbs like want, like, need.
- Inanimate masculine, neuter, and plural look exactly like the nominative - no change.
- Feminine: -а → -у, -я → -ю, soft sign unchanged; mind the stress shift (во́ду).
- Animacy matters here and nowhere else - animate nouns take the genitive form (separate lesson).
- Motion “into” a place (в/на) and days of the week also use the accusative.
Related
- russian-case-system - the overview.
- dative-case - the indirect recipient that often accompanies the accusative direct object.
- genitive-case - the form animate accusative nouns borrow.
Sources
- youtube.com/watch?v=LZnOpknhh0g - Russian Readers, “The Accusative Case (Singular & Plural Nouns)”.
- Full transcript: accusative-case