Russian grammar
Russian grammar for learners, one table at a time. Start with the cheat sheet, then open the chart you need: the six cases and their endings, noun declension, adjective endings, personal and possessive pronouns, present-tense conjugation, the past and the future, verb aspect, verbs of motion, prepositions with their cases, and numbers with the noun forms that follow them. Every Russian word can be heard and every chart printed.
cheat sheets — the essentials on one page
- Russian grammar cheat sheet: the essentials on one page · level A1 — Russian grammar on one printable page: the six cases, noun and adjective endings, pronouns, prepositions by case, a verb in every tense and numbers.
cases
- Russian cases: all six cases in one chart · level A1 — The six Russian cases with their questions and uses, and the noun endings of every type, singular and plural. Tap any word to hear it.
nouns and adjectives
- Russian noun declension: a table for every noun type · level A1 — Russian noun declension tables: стол, музей, студент, окно, поле, книга, неделя and тетрадь in all six cases, singular and plural. Hear every form.
- Russian adjective endings in every case · level A1 — Russian adjective endings for новый, синий and хороший — masculine, neuter, feminine and plural in all six cases — plus short forms and comparison.
verbs
- Russian verb conjugation: the present tense · level A1 — Russian present tense endings for the 1st (читать, жить, писать) and 2nd conjugation (говорить, любить, смотреть), -ся verbs and irregular verbs.
- The Russian past tense · level A1 — The Russian past tense in two tables: -л, -ла, -ло, -ли on читать, говорить, жить and быть, the pasts off the pattern (шёл, мог, нёс), and aspect.
- The Russian future tense · level A1 — The Russian future two ways: буду, будешь, будет + an imperfective infinitive (буду читать), and the one-word future of perfective verbs (прочитаю).
- Russian verb aspect: perfective and imperfective · level A2 — Russian verb aspect with tables of 20 common pairs (делать – сделать, говорить – сказать) and when to use each aspect in the past and the future.
- Russian verbs of motion · level A2 — Russian verbs of motion in pairs — идти/ходить, ехать/ездить and six more — in the present and the past, with the prefixes при-, у-, в-, вы-, пере-.
pronouns, prepositions, questions and numbers
- Russian personal pronouns in every case · level A1 — Russian personal pronouns (я, ты, он, она, оно, мы, вы, они) in all six cases, plus себя, кто, что, этот and тот. Tap a word to hear it.
- Russian possessive pronouns in every case · level A1 — Russian possessives мой, твой, наш, ваш and свой in all six cases, and его, её, их, which never change. Hear every form.
- Russian prepositions and the cases they take · level A1 — Russian prepositions grouped by case — genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, prepositional — with meanings and examples. Hear every word.
- Russian numbers and the noun after a number · level A1 — Russian numbers from ноль to тысяча, the ordinals первый to десятый, and the noun after a number: один стол, два стола, пять столов. Hear every word.
practise and prepare
questions
Is Russian grammar hard?
It has more endings than English: nouns, adjectives and pronouns change across six cases, and most verbs come in aspect pairs. But the endings follow patterns — most nouns decline on one of three patterns and most verbs conjugate on one of two — which is why the grammar fits in tables.
How many tenses does Russian have?
Three: present, past and future. Aspect does much of the rest: an imperfective verb has a present, a past and a future with буду (я буду читать), while a perfective verb has only a past and a one-word future (я прочитаю).
Can I use these tables in class?
Yes. Print any chart, or download its pictures: they are free to share and adapt under CC BY 4.0, with a credit and a link to wspell.