Quick answer
The accusative answers кого́? что? (whom? what?). It marks the direct object and goes after в and на when you are going somewhere.
Я чита́ю кни́гу. Я иду́ в шко́лу.
I am reading a book. I am going to school.
Nominativewho / whatGenitiveof · no · manyDativeto · forAccusativewhat (object)Instrumentalwith · byPrepositionalin · about
When you need it
1. The direct object
Я чита́ю кни́гу.I am reading a book. — кни́га → кни́гу
Я люблю́ ко́фе.I love coffee. — ко́фе never changes
2. Animate nouns take the genitive form
Я ви́жу бра́та.I see my brother. — a person, so брат → бра́та
Я ви́жу стол.I see a table. — a thing, so стол stays стол
3. Going somewhere: в / на + accusative
Я иду́ в шко́лу.I am going to school.
Мы е́дем на рабо́ту.We are going to work.
4. How long something lasts
Я живу́ здесь год.I have lived here for a year.
The endings
| Noun ends in | Accusative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine, thing | unchanged | стол → стол |
| masculine, person/animal | like the genitive | брат → бра́та |
| feminine -а | → у | ма́ма → ма́му |
| feminine -я | → ю | неде́ля → неде́лю |
| feminine -ь | unchanged | ночь → ночь |
| neuter | unchanged | окно́ → окно́ |
Only feminine -а/-я really changes shape. That is why the accusative is the easiest case to start with.
The animate rule in one line
If it can walk, it takes the genitive form: Я ви́жу бра́та (brother), but Я ви́жу стол (table). Same in the plural: Я ви́жу друзе́й.
Adjectives and pronouns
| Masculine / neuter | Feminine | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ending (thing) | like nominative | -ую / -юю | like nominative |
| ending (person) | like genitive | -ую | like genitive |
| но́вый | но́вый стол · но́вого дру́га | но́вую кни́гу | но́вые столы́ · но́вых друзе́й |
Typical mistakes
Я ви́жу брат.
Я ви́жу бра́та.
People and animals take the genitive form in the accusative.
Я иду́ в шко́ле.
Я иду́ в шко́лу.
Movement to a place = accusative. в шко́ле (prepositional) means “at school”, not “to school”.
Check yourself
Я чита́ю ___. (газе́та — newspaper)
A direct object that is feminine in -а takes -у: газе́ту.