Noun Declensions

Declensions of nouns are closely connected to noun cases. The ending of a noun in each case depends on its declension. There are three declensions of nouns in Russian:

The nouns of the first declension are masculine and feminine nouns ending in а and я (including nouns of general gender): книга (book), мужчина (man), соня (sleepyhead).

The second declension: masculing nouns ending in a consonant or neutral nouns ending in о or е: поле (field), конь (horse, masculine), остров (island), кот (cat).

The third declension: feminine nouns ending in ь (Soft Sign): дочь (daughter), ночь (night), лошадь (horse, feminine).

Let’s see how noun of each declension changes in accusative case (when a noun is an object of a direct action).

I declension:

Nominative case (dictionary form)	Accusative case	In a sentence
книга	книгу	Я читаю книгу. – I read/am reading a book.
мужчина	мужчину	Я знаю этого мужчину, – I know this man.
соня	соню	Разбуди этого соню! – Wake this sleepyhead up!

It is simple: if the noun ends in а it becomes у, if the noun ends in я it becomes ю.

II declension:

Nominative case (dictionary form)	Accusative case	In a sentence
поле	поле	Я вижу поле. – I see a field.
конь	коня	Я седлаю коня. – I saddle up a horse.
остров	остров	Я хочу собственный остров. – I want my own island.
кот	кота	Я глажу кота. – I stroke the cat.

As you can see, there is no changes

III declension:

Nominative case (dictionary form)	Accusative case	In a sentence
дочь	дочь	Я люблю свою дочь. – I love my daughter.
ночь	ночь	Я помню ту ночь. – I remember that night.
лошадь	лошадь	Я седлаю лошадь. – I saddle up a horse.

Here is a good news: no changes in accusative case for the III declension, whew!

To see all case endings, check the lesson about noun cases.