In a previous post, we have learned about the instrumental case of Russian nouns. If you’ve already familiar with the formulas and can create sentences using this case, let’s continue learning more about the adjective as well. The accusative case of Russian adjective has a function to describe a noun from a direct object. Just like a noun, the adjective in accusative also has a formula as you can see below.

The Accusative Case of Russian Adjectives Formula

The Hard Adjectives

The hard adjectives have the suffix “-ый”, “-ой”, and “-ий”. If the object is animate, the adjective will be replaced with –ого for masculine and -ых for plural.

[table]

[tr][th]Masculine[/th] [th]Feminine[/th] [th]Neuter[/th] [th]Plural[/th][/tr]

[tr][td]-ый (inanimate)
-ого (animate)[/td] [td]-ую[/td] [td]-ое[/td] [td]-ые (inanimate)
-ых (animate)[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Here are further examples of hard adjectives in Russian:

• Первый (first) –> Первый/Первого, Первую, Первое, Первые/Первых
• Новый (new) –> Новый/Нового, Новую, Новое, Новые/ Новых
• Печальный (sad) –> Печальный/ Печального , Печальную, Печальное, Печальные/ Печальных
• Добрый (kind) –> Добрый/ Доброго, Добрую, Доброе, Добрые/ Добрых
• Старый (old) –> Старый/ Старого, Старую, Старое, Старые/ Старых

Below are example in sentences:

• Я прочитал первую книгу Гарри Поттере
  (Ya prochital pervuyu knigu Garri Pottere)
  I read the first book of Harry Potter.
• Ты видела мой новый карандаш?
  (Ty videla moy novyy karandash?)
  Did you see my new pencil?
• Антон пишет печальное письмо.
  (Anton pishet pechal’noye pis’mo)
  Anton writes a sad letter.
• Я люблю добрых людей.
  (Ya lyublyu dobrykh lyudey)
  I love kind people.

The Soft Adjectives

The soft adjectives have “-ний”.

[table]

[tr][th]Masculine[/th] [th]Feminine[/th] [th]Neuter[/th] [th]Plural[/th][/tr]

[tr][td]-ий
-его (anim.)[/td] [td]-юю[/td] [td]-ее[/td] [td]-ие
-их (anim.)[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Below are the further example of a soft adjectives in Russian:

• Утренний (morning) Утренний/Утреннего,  Утреннюю, Утреннее, Утренние/Утрених
• Передний (front) Передний/Переднего, Переднюю, Переднее, Передние/Передних
• Дальний (distant, long run) Дальний/Дальнего, Дальнюю, Дальнее, Дальние/Дальних
• Последний (last) Последний/Последнего, Последнюю, Последнее, Последние/Последних
• Синий (blue) Синий/Синего, Синюю, Синее, Синие/Синих

Below are example in sentences:

• Я читаю первую и последнюю букву.
  (Ya chitayu pervuyu i poslednyuyu bukvu)
  I read the first and the last letter.
• Мы смотрим на синее небо.
  (My smotrim na sineye nebo)
  We look at the blue sky.
• Сиска люблит ездить на дальних поездах.
  (Siska lyublit yezdit’ na dal’nikh poyezdakh)
  Siska likes to ride on long trains.
• Я подымаю переднее колесо.
  (Ya podymayu peredneye koleso)
  I raise the front wheel.

If you are already familiar and have a good understanding of the accusative case of nouns, the accusative of adjectives won’t be difficult because you only need to follow a noun, as shown in the example above. Besides enriching your vocabulary and knowing some of common greetings in Russian, have you found out about the Perfective and Imperfective Aspect of Russian Verb? Knowing the difference between these aspects will make it easier for you to choose the right verbs when you speak. If you are still wondering about how to learn Russian language easily, find the tips here.  Good luck!