Forming Plurals.

First we will show you how to form the plurals in each of the cases we have already learnt. It
is quite a bit of information to present all at once, but don’t worry, you will find it easier to
learn and remember when you see it used in context later in the lesson.
The Nominative Case - Plural (Subject)
In Russian, in the nominative case, you make a plural by using the letters "и", "ы", "я" or "а".
For masculine nouns:
If the word ends in a consonant, add “ы”.
Replace “й” with “и”
Replace “ь” with “и”
For feminine nouns:
Replace “я” with “и”
Replace “ь” with “и” 
Replace “а” with “ы” (unless previous consonant is Г, К, Х, Ж, Ч, Ш, Щ then replace with
"и" as per the spelling rules.)
For neuter nouns:
Replace “о” with “а”
Replace “е” with “я” (don't forget the spelling rules)
Some examples:
студент (student) - студенты (students)
газета (newspaper) - газеты (newspapers)
здание (building) - здания (buildings)
The Accusative Case - Plural (Direct Object)
For plural nouns the accusative case just 'borrows'
from the other cases, depending on whether the object
is animate or not. Inanimate nouns (not-alive) : Same
as the nominative plural.
Animate nouns (alive) : Same as the genitive plural.
The
TheGenitive Caseto-have
genitive seems Plural (Possession)
the most rules for the plural, but it generally ends in -ов (masculine)
or it is cut short (feminine). These rules refer to converting nouns from the nominative singular
(dictionary form).For masculine nouns:
If ends in "ж,ч,ш,щ,ь" then add "ей" 
If ends in "й, ц" (stressed) add "ев"
All other masculine nouns end in "ов"

For feminine nouns:

If ends in "а" then drop "а" (no ending)
If ends in [consonant] "я" then "ь"
If ends in [vowel] "я" then "й"
If ends in "ь" then add "ей" 
Note: If a feminine word ends in a double consonant it is quite common for a vowel (о, е) to be
inserted for easy pronunciation. (марка - марок, англичанка - англичанок, девушка - девушек)

For neuter nouns:

If ends in "о" then drop "о" (no ending)
If ends in "е" becomes "ей" 
If ends in "ие" becomes "ий"
Some examples:
студент - студентов (students')
газета - газет (newspapers')
здание - зданий (buildings')
Plurals with numbers

Numbers ending in : 1
If the number is 1, or the number ends in the word 'один'
(example: 1, 21, 61) (but not 11), then you should use the
case (singular) that is suitable for the position in the
sentence. The number one declines like an adjective. Here
are some examples.
одна девушка - one girl
Я знаю одну девушку - I know one girl
один рубль - one rouble
двадцать один рубль - 21 roubles
один доллар - one dollar
Numbers ending in : 2,3,4
If the number, or the last digit of the number is 2, 3 or 4,
(example: 22, 42, 103, 4) (but not 12, 13 & 14), then you
should use the genitive singular case.. Here are some
examples.
три рубля - three roubles
четыре рубля - four roubles
две книги - two books
три собаки - three dogs
четыре доллара - four dollars
четыре студента - four students
три газеты - three newspapers
Numbers ending in : 5,6,7,8,9,0, -надцать
If the number ends in any other digit you should use the
genitive plural. All the 'teens' (-надцать) fit in to this
catagory (11, 12, 13, 14, etc)
пять рублей - five roubles
десять рублей - ten roubles
сто рублей - one hundred roubles
сто долларов - one hundred dollars
шесть книг - six books
семь газет - seven newspapers
восемь зданий - eight buildings
девять собак - nine dogs
десять студентов - ten students
So in summary...

Quantity ends in 1 - As per position in the sentence.

Quantity ends in 2,3,4 - Genitive Singular.
Quantity ends in 5,6,7,8,9,0,-надцать - Genitive Plural
General Quantity - Genitive Case (Singular or Plural
depending on context.)
Quantity not specified - Use the case that is
appropriate to the sentence position.
Expressing Your Age in Russian

When talking about your age you need to know the

word ‘years’. In Russian this word has an irregular
plural:
1: год
2-4: года
5-0: лет
Сколько вам лет? - How old are you?
Мне восемнадцать лет - I am 18 years old
Мне двадцать три года - I am 23 years old.
 Forming the dative case.
Masculine Nouns:
1. If the noun ends in a consonant, add “у”.
2. Replace “й”, with “ю”.
3. Replace “ь”, add “ю”.

Feminine Nouns:
1. Replace “а” with “е”.
2. Replace “я” with “е”.
3. Replace “ь” with “и”.
4. Replace “ия” with “ии”.

Neuter Nouns:
1. Replace “о” with “у” 
2. Replace “е” with “ю” 

Plurals:
Look at the last letter nominative singular form (dictionary form) and...
1. If the noun ends in a consonant, add "ам".
2. Replace "а", "о" or a consonant with "ам".
3. Replace the last letter with "ям"

Here are some examples.

Адам - Адаму
Елена - Елене
Молоко - Молоку
Вино - Вину
Pronouns of the Dative Case.

It is worth learning the dative case personal pronouns

quite well as they are used more than you might
expect.
Мне - me.
Тебе - you (informal).
Ему (m), Ему (n), Ей (f) - him, it, her.
Нам - us.
Вам - you (formal, or plural).
Им - them.
The word Давать(give) is commonly used with the
dative case. Here are the conjuctions:
Даю - (I) give
Даёшь - (you) give
Даёт - (he) gives
Даём - (we) give
Даёте - (you) give
Дают - (they) give
The command forms of this word include...
Дай - give!
Дайте - give!
Помогать - to help (to give help to)
Я помогаю Анне - I am helping Anna.
Я помогаю Ивану - I am helping Ivan.
Мы помогаем маме каждый день - We help
mother every day.
Я помогаю этой девушке - I am helping this girl.

Звонить - to call (to make a phone call to)
Она звонит Ивану каждый день - She calls Ivan
every day.
Иван звонит Анне каждый день - Ivan calls Anna
every day.
To Like

Мне нравится Москва - I like Moscow. (lit: Moscow is pleasing to me.)

Ей нравится Москва - She likes Moscow. (lit: Moscow is pleasing to her.)
Ему нравится Москва - He likes Moscow.
Вам нравится Москва - You like Moscow.
Адаму нравится Москва - Adam likes Moscow.
Как вам нравится ...? - How do you like ...?
Как вам нравится фильм? - How do you like the film?
Вам нравится Москва? - Do you like Moscow?
If the subject is plural use нравятся
Мне нравятся дети - I like the children. (lit: children are pleasing to me.)
Мне нравятся ваши дети - I like your children.
Мне нравятся цветы - I like the flowers.
Мне очень нравятся цветы - I really like the flowers.
Feelings

Мне холодно - I am cold (to me it’s cold)

Мне жарко - I am hot (to me it’s hot)
Ему холодно - He is cold (to him its cold)
Ей холодно - She is cold (to her its cold)
Нам холодно - We are cold (to us its cold)
Мне скучно - I am bored (to me its boring)

Age
Мне восемнадцать лет - I am 18 years old (to me there are
18 years)
Мне двадцать три года - I am 23 years old.
The preposition "к" (towards/to)

In Russian the preposition "к" means "towards/to". It

is followed by the dative case.
The dative case can also be used with the preposition
"по" (along). Although the use of this proposition is
too varied, and has too many meanings, to create an
exact rule.
Some More Examples
Я иду к вокзалу - I am walking towards the station.
Мы едем к друзьям - We are going to our friends.
Forming the Russian Instrumental Case
Masculine Nouns:
1. All consonants, add “ом”. Except...
2. If the noun ends in unstressed “ж”, “ц”, “ч”, “ш” or “щ”, then add “ем”.
(This is to comply with the spelling rules)
3. Replace “й”, with “ем”, if stressed “ём”.
4. Replace “ь”, add “ем”, if stressed “ём”.
Feminine Nouns:
1. Replace “а” with “ой”. Except...
2. If the stem of the noun ends in “ж”, “ц”, “ч”, “ш” or “щ”, replace “а” with
“ей” (This is to comply with the spelling rules)
3. Replace “я” with “ей”, if stressed “ёй”.
4. Replace “ь” with “ью”.
Neuter Nouns:
1. Add “м” 
Plurals
Look at the last letter nominative singular form (dictionary form) and...
1. All consonants, add "ами".
2. Replace "а", "о" with "ами".
3. Otherwise replace with "ями"
Examples
молоко - молоком (milk)
сметана - сметаной (sour cream)
карандаш - карандашом (pencil)
ложка - ложкой (spoon)
нож - ножом (knife)
муж - мужем (husband)
жена - женой (wife)
Иван - Иваном (Ivan)
Анна - Анной (Anna)
студенты - студентами (students)
Using the Intrumental Case: By means of
The instrumental case is used to express the concept of “by
means of”. In English this is normally done using the words
“using” or “with”. In English these words can have different
meanings, so it’s important to recognise when they are
meaning “by means of”.
Examples.
Иван пишет карандашом - Ivan writes with a pencil.
Я ем суп ложкой - I eat soup with a spoon.
Олег режет мясо ножом - Oleg cuts the meat with a knife.
 The preposition: ‘с’ - With, Accompanied by.
The preposition “с” means “with” when used with the instrumental case. It expresses
the concept of “to be accompanied by” or “together with”. “с” is normally
pronounced as though it is part of the next word.
For ease of pronunciation, when “с” it is followed by two or more consonants, it is
often written as “со”. This way it can be pronounced as a word on it’s own rather
than combined with the following word. Here are a couple of examples from lesson
4:
Дайте, пожалуйста, кофе с молоком - Please give me coffee with milk.
Дайте, пожалуйста, кофе с молоком и с сахаром - Please give me coffee with
milk and sugar.

More examples:
Я ем борщ со сметаной - I eat borsh with sour cream.
Иван хочет чай с молоком - Ivan wants tea with milk.
Надя хочет чай с лимоном - Nadya wants tea with lemon.
Я люблю блинчики с икрой - I love pancakes with caviar
In Russian the preposition “с” is also used to indicate when
two people accompany each other. In English we would use
the word “and”, but Russian generally uses “с” (with). Have a
look at the following Russian examples.
Иван с Анной идут в кафе. - Ivan and Anna are going to
the cafe.
Иван с женой идут в кафе. - Ivan and his wife are going to
the cafe.
Анна с Иваном идут в кафе. - Anna and Ivan are going to
the cafe.
Анна с мужем идут в кафе. - Anna and her husband are
going to the cafe.
Another interesting language point is how Russians say “Ivan and I”.
It is said as “Мы с Иваном” (“we, with Ivan”). Here are some
examples.
Мы с Иваном идём в школу - Ivan and I are going to school.
Мы с мужем идём в кафе - My husband and I are going to the cafe.
Мы с женой идём в кафе - My wife and I are going to the cafe.
Мы с вами - Me and you

Notes: 
1. The Russian word for ‘without’ is ‘без’. However it is followed by
the genitive case.
2. ‘вместе’ is the Russian word for 'together'. So ‘вместе с’ means
'together with' and is followed by the instrumental case.
Pronouns - Instrumental Case

Here are the Russian pronouns in the instrumental case. Remember

that these pronouns are very often follow the preposition “с”. So they
commonly have the meaning ‘with me’, ‘with you’, ‘with him’. It is a
good idea to also practice saying them with the “с” sound at the start.
Мной - Me
Тобой - You
Им - Him
Ей - Her
Им - It
Нами - Us
Вами - You (plural)
Ими - Them
Seasons and parts of the day.
лето - summer
летом - in summer

осень - autumn
осенью - in autumn

зима - winter
зимой - in winter

весна - spring
весной - in spring
The same principal applies to parts of the day:
утро - morning
утром - in the morning

день - day, afternoon
днём - in the afternoon

вечер - evening
вечером - in the evening

ночь - night
ночью - at night

Вечером я ем борщ со сметаной - In the evening I eat borsh with sour
cream.
Other Prepositions and the Instrumental Case.
The instrumental case is also used after the following prepositions. Remember
that some of these prepositions may have different meanings if they are
followed by a different case.
за - behind, beyond, for
между - between
над - above
перед - in front of
под - under

Examples:
За этим зданием - школа. - Behind this building there is a school.
Между обедом и ужином выпей чай. - Between lunch and dinner drink tea.
Над столом висит лампа. - The lamp is above the table.
Перед этой школой поверните налево. - In front of this school turn to the
left.
Под столом сидит кот. - Under the table the cat is sitting.
Important Russian Expressions

Learn the following phrases for special events in

Russia
С Рождеством - Merry Christmas
С днём рождения - Happy birthday
С новым годом - Happy new year
Advanced: Verbs that use the Instrumental Case.
The following verbs are used commonly used with the instrumental case. Most of these are
reflexive verbs which we haven’t learnt yet. As this is a little bit advanced we won’t give
examples now, but it is something to keep in mind. You don't need to learn these verbs now.
быть - to be, is, was
заниматься - to be engaged in, to be occupied with
интересоваться - to be interested in
оказываться - to turn out to be
оставаться - to remain as
пользоваться - to use, enjoy
становиться/стать - to become
увлекаться - to be keen on
управлять - control, manage, govern
являться - to seem, be
The verb “Быть” (to be, is, was) has no present tense. However when it is used in the past
and future tense with nouns, the following noun is usually in the instrumental case.
(Example: Я был врачом - I was a doctor). You will learn more about this in a later lesson.