Russian grammar of cases. What questions do cases answer? Instrumental case questions. Prepositional case questions

From the history.

After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', a need arose to teach people to read and write. To do this, it was necessary to normalize or systematize the language. There were no grammars at that time.


At the beginning of the 14th century, from various Greek grammatical treatises, the essay “On the Eight Parts of the Word” (that is, “speech”) was compiled in Serbia. In accordance with the Greek system, five cases are defined for the Slavic language. Their names, like the word “case” (or “fall”) itself, were formed by tracing (translating the word in parts) the corresponding Greek terms.

Word " case"(Greek ptosis) denoted a change in ending, due to which a word becomes in a certain relationship to other words. In the essay “On the Eight Parts of a Word” these relationships are presented as follows.

Right case(Laternominative) is translated from the Greek orte and gives the correct, or original form of the word. The philologist of the late 16th century, Maxim the Greek, called this case direct. All other cases are indirect in relation to it (or oblique, Greek plagiai), since they decline, that is, deviate from it. The modern term declination appeared in the 16th century, representing a tracing from the Latin declinatio.

Second case - dear (Greek genike), one of the functions of which is to designate the genus, origin, classifying an object into a similar class (work of art).

Dative (Greek dotike) is named for one of its functions related to the verb to give, to give.

Guilty case(Greek aitiatike) - derived from the word “guilt” (Greek aitia), which in ancient times had the meaning “reason”, and is considered as a case designation of the cause of a particular action (catching a butterfly).

Fifth case - vocative (Greek kletike), which was used when addressing. In modern Russian there are traces of it in the form of forms: father, elder, friend, and its functions are performed by the nominative case. True, now a new vocative case is being formed (Vasya, Pet’, Svet).

But the Greek system did not meet the needs of learning Slavic languages, since it did not contain Instrumental and Prepositional cases.


At the beginning of the 16th century, the embassy translator Dmitry Gerasimov translated Donatus’s treatise on Latin grammar from the 4th century, popular in Europe. The term appears here for the first time Nominative fall , with the explanation “right in Greek,” which was a tracing-paper from the Latin Nominativus. The remaining cases have the same names, since the Latin terms were calques from ancient Greek.

The main difference with the Latin system, however, was that it had Ablativus. Dmitry Gerasimov called it Negative Fall and provided an example “from this teacher.” The given meaning, now called deferential, does not exhaust the functions of this case: with another meaning it corresponds to our Instrumental case.

Soon in the Grammar of Laurentius Zizanius (1596) a designation of similar Slavic forms appears - Instrumental case (the word “fall” had fallen out of use by that time). The function of the allocated case was to indicate the doer, the producer of the action. Forms Prepositional case he highlights under the heading Dative case.
The grammar of Meletius Smotrytsky, published in 1619, introduced the seventh case - Declarative; the name of the case was derived from such cases of its use as “to say about someone, about something.”
M.V. Lomonosov in "Russian Grammar" replaces Prepositional to Prepositional, noting that the forms of this case are used exclusively with prepositions. This was the first grammar to deal with the Russian language; all previous ones dealt with the Church Slavonic language. But Lomonosov did not rule out Vocative case, k which by that time was already of little use. It was excluded in later grammatical works. http://otvet.mail.ru/question/13431713

Additionally



TO how to distinguish
Genitive
from Vinitelnog O.

Instructions

1 Determine whether the noun being analyzed is animate or inanimate. An animate noun in the genitive and accusative cases answers the key question “who?” An inanimate noun answers in the genitive case the question “what?”, and in the accusative case – to the question “what?”, which coincides with the question word in the nominative case.

2 Check the noun for compatibility with certain words. In the genitive case, the noun is combined with the word “no”. For example, “No what?” - “Chair” or “No one?” - “Student.” The accusative case is usually checked by compatibility with verbs in the first person, singular and present tense: “I see”, “I know”, “I love”. For example, “See what?” - “Chair” or “I see who?” - “Student.” In this example, you can notice that the forms of the accusative and genitive cases of animate masculine nouns of the second declension coincide.


3 Substitute any word of the 1st declension for the animate masculine noun of the 2nd declension. For example, “No one?” - “Students” or “I see who?” - “Student.” In the first declension it is easy to determine the ending -ы for the genitive and -у for the accusative case.

Study of cases and their differences.

Russian language is considered one of the most complex languages peace. Of course, it’s hard for anyone to learn a non-native vocabulary. But precisely because of the transformation of words into cases, the Slavic dialect becomes too difficult to understand. And many speakers of their native dialect are often confused about this issue, so next we will try to figure it out.

Changing nouns by case: what is it called?

Changing nouns by case - called declination.

Declension- this is our transformation of words at the end. And it is necessary so that the words are properly fastened together. This is how statements in the Russian lexicon are obtained.

Noun- this is the component of the phrase that implies the subject. Both living and non-living. Therefore, it gives answers to the questions posed: who? And what?

Covers very broad concepts:

  • name of items(chair, knife, book)
  • designation of persons(woman, baby, vegetarian)
  • naming living things(dolphin, cat, amoeba)
  • name of substances(coffee, gelatin, starch)
  • terms various factors and cases(fire, intermission, correspondence)
  • designation of all stays, actions and properties(tearfulness, optimism, running)

There are six different cases:

  • nominative
  • genitive
  • dative
  • accusative
  • instrumental
  • prepositional

Cases of nouns in Russian: table with questions, prepositions and auxiliary words in the singular

To perceive and quickly assimilate information, tables are often used. They do a great job of showing what questions are used.

  • First declension- nouns of feminine and masculine gender, the ending of which is - a, i
  • Second declension- masculine nouns without an ending and ending in soft sign, neuter with ending - oh, e
  • Third declension- these are feminine words that end with a soft sign


In the plural, for better understanding, a table is used, which differs, however, only in the ending.


Incorrect use of cases: what type of error?

It seems that you look at the tables and examples, and everything becomes clear. And you think, what’s so complicated about that? But in reality it turns out that many people make mistakes. Despite the fact that they know the material. And, as a rule, these are very common mistakes that require special attention.

Highlight 2 main mistakes, which are connected:

  • with incorrect definition of noun declension
  • with inappropriate use of prepositions

Prepositions require special attention:

  • thanks to
  • according to
  • contrary to
  • like
  • contrary to
  • across

IMPORTANT: These prepositions are used in the dative case.

For example, maneuver according to (what?) law. Or, thanks to (what?) friendship with the Fedorov family.

It is also worth highlighting a number of other statements that often used in the erroneous case:

  • In view. The current preposition is used only in the genitive case. For example, due to excess (what?) money.
  • A statement like "together with" requires the instrumental case, since it has the weight of joint action. For example, playing with (who?) my nephew.
  • Also, a pretext "along with" also asks for the instrumental case. For example, along with other (what?) things.
  • But after the expression "By" the adverb requests the prepositional case. If there is a meaning "after something". For example, upon completion of the contract.

How to distinguish the nominative case from the accusative case?


Every student faces these questions. And adults often face similar choices. And it is not surprising that these aspects are often confused. After all, the questions are of the same type and endings of inanimate words the same ones, but here graduation animate nouns totally different.

How the nominative case differs from the accusative case: instructions.

  • Of course, the question is raised.
    There was already a reminder in the table above that the nominative is guided by questions Who? What?(How main member offers). And the accusative - (I see) whom? What?(minor part of the sentence).
  • And there is a little trick. Because the word in the nominative case will always be main member in a sentence, then we determine the main members of the sentence - the subject and the predicate.
  • If our word is not the main member of the sentence, therefore, it is in the accusative case and will be a minor member of the sentence.
  • Another technique: pose a question to the word being tested in an animated form. For example: Who? parrot (subject in the nominative case) pecks What?(who?) grain (minor part of the sentence, accusative).
  • Also, a significant role is played by the pretext with which it is associated independent part speech (or not). In the first variant (nominative case), the noun is always used without pretext. But in the second (accusative case), on the contrary, more often with it ( in, on, for, through and others).
  • It will also help to identify the case ending. The table above has already mentioned what endings each case has.

How to distinguish the accusative case from the genitive case?


  • The most important help is the question you need to ask yourself in your mind. The genitive case, as we know, responds to questions whom or what No? But the accusative case is - see who? I hear what? Question whom? the same in both cases.

Read the instructions below.

  1. Mentally replace the animate object with an inanimate one.
  2. The question approaches the inanimate in the genitive case: what isn't there? But in the accusative, an inanimate object reacts to the question What do I see and hear?
  3. Example: I caught ( whom?) butterfly. We pose an inanimate question. I caught ( What?) butterfly. Question what? doesn't fit. So this is the accusative case.
  • By the way, in genitive case will mean attachment to someone or something. We bought a suitcase for ( what?) travel (genitive). The bedside table is made ( Of what?) made of wood (genitive). Also point to a particle of something. A flower is a part of (what?) a plant (genitive). Or is it going comparison of objects. Smartphone is better ( what?) push-button telephone (genitive).
  • It is also important that in the genitive case the verb will be with negative particle. In the shop Not was ( what?) sour cream (genitive).
  • But in accusative case has spacious place or intermediate touching. Define ( What?) weather for tomorrow (accusative). And also, the effect transfers entirely to the object. For example, I closed ( What?) door (accusative). Drank (what?) milk (accusative). Or it will express desire and intention. I want to eat ( What?) apple.

Indeclinable nouns: list

It seems that all the nuances were considered, and a little clarification began. But it was not there! The Russian language has come up with some more traps - these are nouns that are not declined. And this is where foreigners get shocked.

To put it very briefly, this is foreign words(practically). But to make it a little clearer, below is a list.

  • Nouns foreign origin(proper and common nouns), the endings of which are -о, -е, -у, -у, -и, -а:
    • highway
    • interview
    • flamingo
  • Again words of foreign origin. But! Female and with a consonant ending:
    • madam
    • Carmen
  • Surnames. Russian and Ukrainian, the ending of which ends in –о and –ы, theirs:
    • Ivanchenko
    • Korolenko
    • Sedykh, etc.
  • Well, of course abbreviations and shortened words:

Declension of nouns by case: example

Rules are rules, but with an example it is much easier to understand. To make it easier visually, we will also resort to using a table.


How to quickly learn cases and their questions?

In principle, there is nothing complicated. If you carefully understand and understand. And it’s hard not only for visitors from other countries, but also for our children. Therefore, in order for information to be absorbed faster, they have come up with a lot of things. But in our school years we taught by putting a book under the pillow. And, most importantly, it worked! I read it before going to bed, slept all night on the book and already remembered everything.

  • Of course, many teachers resort to rhymes or games. But parents should also help their children in this matter.
  • First of all, you need to remember how many cases there are. There are only 6 of them.
  • And then, using the most common and everyday examples, explain to the child what questions the noun answers. This means that cases are easier to determine.
  • The most important thing is practice! They took the child from educational institution and go on the bus. Forward! Practice the words you observe. At least by bus.
  • By the way, a small example of a light poem. The kids will like it and it will help educational information learn quickly.








A poem about cases: Ivan gave birth to a girl, ordered her to drag a diaper

All parents can repeat this poem in chorus. After all, he was remembered as “twice two.” And most importantly, it is easy for children to understand.

  • Ivan (I - nominative)
    Gave birth (P - genitive)
    Girl, (D - dative)
    Velel (B - accusative)
    Drag (T - instrumental)
    Diaper (P - prepositional)

Video: How easy is it to learn cases? Simple memorization technique

For coherent speech in Russian, the same words can be used in different forms, it can be singular or feminine, masculine or neuter, as well as declensions with changing endings. And a particularly important role in the construction of correct statements is played by cases, which show the syntactic role and connection of words in a sentence. Pronouns and numerals are subject to declension. And in learning the Russian language, it is very important to learn how to determine the case form of these parts of speech and know what questions the cases answer.

Basic cases of the Russian language

The case system of the Russian language is quite simple to learn, but it has several features. Therefore, a huge amount of time is devoted to this topic in the school curriculum. First of all, children are introduced to what questions cases answer and what they are called. As a rule, only six main cases are presented to the attention of schoolchildren, although in fact there are many more of them, however, due to the close similarity, the varieties of obsolete case forms were combined with the main ones. Although there is still debate about this among linguists.

Nominative

The nominative case in abbreviated form is written by Him. n. Questions nominative case -Who? So what? For all parts of speech, this is the initial one and can act as the name of an object, person or natural phenomenon, and in a sentence always acts as the subject. For example:

The girl left the room; The sun was setting below the horizon.

Also in the nominative case there can be a nominal part compound predicate. For example:

Nikita is my son; Alexander Vasilievich - director.

Also, the main member and address are always in the nominative case. For example:

Noise, noise, reeds; Here is the old house.

Genitive

The genitive case can be used both after verbs and after names. Words with this declension answer questions whom? what? In abbreviated form it is written R.p.

This form of words has varied meanings and syntactic uses. The verb genitive case can indicate the subject:

  • in the case when the verb has a negation: don't blow your mind, don't tell the truth;
  • if the action does not relate to the whole object, but only to its part: drink water, eat soup, chop wood.

The adjective genitive case can indicate a number of relationships:

  • belonging to someone or something: mother's house, doll's dress;
  • the relationship of something whole to any part: hotel number, tree branch;
  • assessment or determination of qualities: green cap, tears of happiness, man of his word.

That's why for correct definition case form, it is very important to know what questions the cases answer.

Nouns used in the genitive case together with adjectives of comparison indicate the object or person with which they are compared. For example:

More beautiful than Natasha, whiter than snow, faster than lightning.

Dative

To understand how to use a word in a particular case, you need to clearly know what questions the cases answer, in which case a certain form of declension is used. So, for example, the dative case (to whom; to what?) words are most often placed after verbs and only in a few cases after words denoting objects.

Mainly words in this case are used to designate the main object to which the action is directed.

For example:

Say hello to a friend, threaten an enemy, order to subordinates.

IN impersonal sentences words in the dative case can be used as a predicate. For example:

Sasha became scared. The boy was cold. The patient is getting worse.

Accusative

Questions in the accusative case are similar to questions in other cases, namely the genitive and nominative. So, for an animate object this is a question whom? and to the inanimate - What? And quite often schoolchildren confuse this case with the nominative, therefore, for the correct definition, first of all, it is necessary to highlight in the sentence grammatical basis. Words in this case form are most often used with verbs and denote the object to which the action is completely transferred.

For example:

Fish, shine shoes, sew a skirt, bake a pie.

Also, words in can express quantity, time, space and distance. For example:

The whole summer, every minute, every year.

Instrumental case

Just like other case forms, instrumental case questions have two forms for living and nonliving objects. These are special questions that cannot be confused with other forms. Yes, for animate object the instrumental case answers the question by whom? For example:

He knew (who?) Oksana and (who?) her mother.

For an inanimate object, the instrumental case answers the question how? For example:

He fed (what?) bread, gave him (what?) water to drink.

As a rule, this form of words is used in combination with verbs that are closely related to names.

This case form of words with verbs always acts as a means and instrument of action, can be an image or method of action, and also have meanings of time, place, space and who is performing the action. For example:

(with what?) stick.

The old man propped himself up with (what?) his palm.

The road led through (what?) forest.

The fairy tales “Aibolit”, “Confusion” and “Cockroach” were written (by whom?) Korney Chukovsky.

Also, this case form of words can also occur with names and have the following meanings. With nouns:

  • instrument of action: beat with hand, brush;
  • actor: security of the house by guards, release of goods by the seller;
  • content of the action itself: study German;
  • defining meaning: sausage ring, bass singing.

With adjectives, words in the instrumental case are used with the meaning of limiting the specified attribute. For example:

He was strong in mind and famous for his discoveries.

Prepositional

The sixth and last case that is studied in the school curriculum is prepositional.

Questions of the prepositional case, like other case forms, are divided in the direction of living objects (on whom? about whom?) and inanimate (on what? about what?). Words in this case are always used with prepositions, which is where the name of the case itself comes from. Depending on the preposition used, the meaning also changes; questions of the prepositional case are always constructed using the same prepositions that are used in specific cases in the context.

Using prepositions with words in the prepositional case

To correctly determine the case form of words and use them correctly in speech, it is very important to know how cases are associated with questions and prepositions when used various forms words in sentences.

Each of the prepositions used gives the word its own meaning:


What role do cases, questions and prepositions play?

The table of prepositions that are used in combination with various case forms of words plays a huge role in the study of the case system of the Russian language.

After all, it is they who, by joining nouns, can reveal different meanings the same word.

CasePretextMeaningExample
Genitivearound, because of, before, at

define the space in which an object is located or in which an action takes place

walk around the park

left the house

stand by the tree

Dativeto, by

used to indicate approaching an object, object or place of event

approach your friend

drive off-road

Accusativein, for, onindicate which object the action is directed at

hug around the waist,

look out the window

put on the table

Instrumentalunder, behind, over, with

can have many meanings, including indicating the direction of a certain action and designating space

fly above the ground,

walk under the bridge

be friends with grandma

Declension of nouns, adjectives and numerals by case

One of the main topics of this section of the Russian language is the topic: “Declination by cases.” As a result of such a change, the word is transformed, acquiring a new ending, which is quite important for the correct construction of speech. Declension occurs by changing the word so that it answers the questions of each case. The declension of nouns is independent, while adjectives and numerals in context always depend on the case in which the word associated with them appears.

In the case of declension of numerals, the question can also be modified, as for an adjective, making it easier to decline the word.

Declension of numerals by case
CaseCase questionQuestion for the numeralNumeral
NominativeWho? What?How many? Which?
Genitivewhom? what?how many? which one?

eighth

eighth

Dativeto whom? what?how many? which one?

eighth
eighth
eighth

Accusativewhom? What?How many? which one?

eighth

eighth

Instrumentalby whom? how?how many? what?
Prepositionalabout whom? about what?about how many? about which one?

about the eighth

about the eighth

about the eighth

Target school curriculum- teach children not only to correctly determine the case form of words in a given sentence, but also to be able to correctly use a preposition that will fully reveal the meaning of the statement. Such skills are very important for building competent speech. That is why special attention is paid to this topic and a sufficient number of Russian language lessons are given so that children can not only learn, but also consolidate this material well.

There are only six cases in Russian:

  • Nominative;
  • Genitive;
  • Dative;
  • Accusative;
  • Instrumental;
  • Prepositional.

Why is it necessary to know how to determine case? Determining the case helps to indicate the correct ending of the word, therefore, avoiding grammatical errors. How to determine the case of a noun, pronoun, adjective or numeral quickly and accurately?

There are special case questions, with their help they determine whether parts of speech belong to a particular case.

Case questions

Nominative: who?, what? (fish, barrel);

Genitive: whom?, what? (fish, barrels);

Dative: to whom?, to what? (fish, barrel);

Accusative: whom?, what? (fish, barrel);

Creative: by whom?, with what? (fish, barrel);

Prepositional: about whom?, about what? (about fish, about a barrel).

To correctly determine the case, you should remember the above questions, two for each case. But there is a little trick: instead of twelve, you can remember only six simple words, which will help not only determine case, but also remember case questions.

Determining case for different words

How to correctly determine case using auxiliary words?

There is a fish (who, what) - nominative;

There is no fish (who, what) - genitive;

I'll give it to the fish (to whom, what) - dative;

I see fish (who, what) - accusative;

Satisfied with the fish (who, what) - instrumental;

I think about fish (about whom, about what) - prepositional.

For example, consider the sentence: “The fish didn’t fit into the barrel.” There are two nouns in this sentence: fish, barrel. We substitute auxiliary words: there is (who, what) fish - nominative case; I see (who, what) a barrel - accusative case.

Substituting to the word relevant question, you can also determine the case of pronouns. Examples: she was not given a ticket. To her (to whom, to what) - dative case. I think about him all the time. About him (about whom, about what) - prepositional case.

If difficulties arise, you can replace the pronoun with a suitable noun: I think about my son all the time. About the son (about whom) - prepositional case.

When it is already clear how to determine the case of pronouns and nouns, you can consider numerals and adjectives.

How to determine the case of an adjective and numeral? Adjectives and numerals have the same case as the nouns they refer to.

For example:

A big fish is swimming. Big fish(who, what) - nominative case.

I'm going to my first meeting. The first meeting (of whom, what) - accusative case.

If a noun is omitted in a sentence, then the case can be determined by substituting a word that makes sense:

The most beautiful one is coming. Beautiful (girl) - who, what - nominative case.

After ten, everything will be closed. The tenth (number) - whom, what - genitive case.

If you thoroughly understand the above material, then the question of how to determine the case of a numeral, adjective, pronoun or noun will no longer arise.

Recently I came across a mention of the fact that in the Russian language there are more cases than the six that we studied at school. I began to dig further and, in general, counted as many as thirteen of them. This allowed me to deeply understand the essence of the concepts of case and declension, and to fall in love with the Russian language even more.

We more or less “know everything” about the six official cases, so I’ll immediately write about what I managed to dig up about the other seven: quantitative-severative, conditional, expectative, locative, vocative, inflective and counting. I will comment on everything without citing sources, because I don’t remember them at all; All this information can be collected bit by bit by feeding Yandex the names of the cases and paying attention to the fact that in the places found they are talking about the Russian language. In all discussions I will use own feeling language, so I can’t promise absolute correctness, but I hope that all this will be interesting to someone. I will be very glad to receive competent comments or simply the opinions of sympathizers.

Quantitative-separating the case is a type of genitive, in the sense that it answers its own questions and indicates some of its functions. Sometimes it can be easily replaced by a genitive, but sometimes it will sound clumsy. For example, should I offer you a cup of (who? what?) tea or (who? what?) tea? Please note that of the classical six cases, the form “tea” falls under the dative case (to whom? what?), but here it answers the question of the genitive (whom? what?). Some will say that the form “tea” sounds somewhat archaic, rustic. Not sure if this is true; I would rather say “tea” than “tea”, or even reformulate the sentence to use the accusative case (“Will you have some tea?”). Here’s another example: “pump up the heat.” Country style? I think no. And the option “set the heat” hurts the ears. More examples: “pour juice”, “speed up”.

Depriving the case is used together with the negation of the verb in phrases like “not to know the truth” (but “to know the truth”), “not to have the right” (but “to have the right”). It cannot be said that in the version with negation we use the genitive case, because in some cases the words remain in the accusative form: “not drive a car” (not cars), “don’t drink vodka” (not vodka). This case arises only if we believe that each function of a noun must correspond to one specific case. Then the deprivative case is a case whose forms can correspond to the forms of the genitive or accusative. Sometimes they are interchangeable, but in some cases it is noticeably more convenient for us to use only one of the two options, which speaks in favor of the emptive case. For example, “not a step back” (implying “not to do”) sounds much more Russian than “not a step back.”

Waiting case is a rather complex phenomenon. We can wait (fear, beware, be embarrassed) for someone or something, that is, it seems that we should use the genitive case with these verbs. However, sometimes this genitive suddenly takes the form of an accusative. For example, we are waiting for (who? what?) a letter, but (who? what?) mom. But on the contrary, “wait for a letter” or “wait for mom” is somehow not in Russian (especially the second one). Of course, if these forms are considered acceptable, then there is no waitative case; it’s just that with the verb wait (and its brothers) you can use both the genitive and accusative cases. However, if these forms are not recognized as acceptable (which I personally am inclined to do), then the expectant case arises, which for some words coincides with the genitive, and for others with the accusative. In this case, we need a criterion for how to inflect a given word.

Let's try to understand the difference between the expressions “wait for a letter” and “wait for mom.” When we are waiting for a letter, we do not expect any activity from the letter. We are not waiting the letter itself, namely letters, delivery of a letter, arrival of a letter, that is, some phenomenon associated with its appearance in our mailbox. Writing plays a passive role here. But when we are waiting for our mother, we are not waiting for “the taxi driver to deliver my mother to our meeting place,” but rather for the mother herself, hoping that she will hurry to arrive on time (and it is quite possible that she will use a taxi). That is, it turns out that if an object expressed by a noun can influence its own appearance, then we wait for it in the form of the accusative case (he will be “guilty” if he is late), and if the object itself cannot do anything, then we We are already waiting in the form of a genitive. Perhaps this has something to do with the concept of animacy? It may well be that this happens; for example, in the accusative case there is also a similar effect - for inanimate objects in the second declension it coincides with the nominative (“sit on a chair”).

Local case is the most understandable of all special cases. It exists, it is used by each of us, its forms are obvious, they cannot be replaced with other words, and therefore it is very strange that it is not included in school list. The prepositional case has two functions (there are more, but we will ignore this): indicating the object of speech and indicating the place or time of action. For example, you can talk about (who? what?) the square, and you can stand on (who? what?) the square, think about (who? what?) the room and be in (who? what?) the room. The first case is called the “explanatory case”, and the second is called the “local case”. For a square and a room, these forms do not depend on function. But, for example, at the nose, forest, snow, paradise, year - it depends. We're talking about the nose, but the weekend is right around the corner; We think about the year, but birthdays only come once a year. You can't walk in the forest, you can only walk in the forest.

The funny thing is that here the case is controlled not by the preposition, but by the meaning. That is, if we come up with a construction with the preposition “in”, when being in the corresponding place is not meant, we will definitely want to use the explanatory rather than the locative case. For example, “I know a lot about the forest.” If you say “I know a lot about the forest,” then it immediately seems that you only know a lot when you are in the forest, and, moreover, you forgot to say what exactly you know a lot about.

Vocative case is used when referring to the object expressed by a noun. Two groups of examples are given in different sources. One group includes short forms of names used only when addressing (Vasya, Kol, Pet, Len, Ol) and some other words (mam, dad). Another group includes outdated (female) or religious (god, lord) forms of address. I don't like the idea of ​​treating it as a case because I don't think the resulting word is a noun at all. Therefore, by the way, the possessive case in Russian is not a case, since the words “Vasin” or “mother” are not nouns, but adjectives. But what part of speech is “Ol” then? I came across the opinion somewhere that this is an interjection, and, perhaps, I agree with this. Indeed, “Ol” differs from “hey” only in that it is formed from the name “Olya”, but in essence it is just an exclamation aimed at attracting attention.

Transformative the inclusive case is used in phrases like “went to be an astronaut” or “ran for president.” At school we were told that all cases except the nominative are indirect, but this is a simplification; That's not exactly the point of indirection. A word is placed in one of the indirect cases when it is not the subject. IN English language oblique case only one, which is why it is sometimes called “indirect”. Its forms differ from direct ones only in a few words (I/me, we/us, they/them, etc.).

If, analyzing the phrase “he became an astronaut,” we assume that “astronauts” are plural, then we need to put this word in the accusative case, and it turns out that “he joined (who? what?) astronauts.” But they don’t say that, they say “he became an astronaut.” However, this is not the nominative case for three reasons: 1) “cosmonauts” is preceded by a preposition that the nominative case does not have; 2) the word “cosmonauts” is not a subject, so this case must be indirect; 3) the word “cosmonauts” in this context does not answer questions in the nominative case (who? what?) - you can’t say “who did he go to?”, only “who did he go to?” Consequently, we have the permutative case, which answers the questions of the accusative, but whose form coincides with the form of the nominative in the plural.

Counting case occurs when using some nouns with numerals. For example, we say “for (whom? what?) an hour,” but “three (whom? what?) hours,” that is, we use not the genitive, but a special, counting case. As another example, the noun “step” is called - supposedly, “two steps”. But I think I would say “two steps,” so it’s not clear how correct this example is. An independent group of examples consists of nouns formed from adjectives. In the counting case, they answer the questions of the adjectives from which they come, and in the plural. For example, “there is no (who? what?) workshop,” but “two (what?) workshops.” Let us note that the use of the plural here is not justified by the fact that there are two workshops, because when we have two chairs we say “two chairs” and not “two chairs”; We use the plural only starting with five.

Total. Of all these tricky cases, only local and inflective seem to me to be full-fledged. Waiting also makes some sense, since I don’t like waiting for “weather” by the sea. Quantitative-severative and subtractive are too slippery and can often be replaced by the genitive, so they can be considered simply options, preferable in certain cases. I’m not ready to consider the vocative as a case at all, because, as I already said, it doesn’t seem to me that “uncle” is a noun. Well, as for the counting guy, the devil only knows. The effect with nouns formed from adjectives can be considered simply a glitch of the language, and the example with an hour seems to be only one.

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