Cases, an overview

After this page you will know what a case is and why Ukrainian nouns change their endings. You will be able to name the seven cases and give one main job for each. You will also recognise a few case forms of one noun when you meet them in a sentence.

This page is for recognising cases, not for learning endings by heart. The full tables of endings come later, one step at a time.

What a case is

A case is the form a noun takes for a particular job in the sentence. Ukrainian shows that job mainly with the ending of the noun. The dictionary form is one case, and the other forms have different endings.

English has a small remnant of this. Compare he and him: He sees her but She sees him. The word changes because its job changes. English does this only with a few pronouns, such as he/him, she/her and who/whom. Ukrainian does it with every noun. (This is a rough comparison, not an exact match.)

Ukrainian has no words for a or the, and it often leaves out my when the meaning is clear. So сестра́ can be translated “a sister”, “the sister” or “my sister” depending on the context.

Why the endings change

English mostly uses word order and prepositions to show who does what. Ukrainian uses endings instead, and often a preposition together with an ending.

• Endings free up the word order. Because the ending shows who is the subject and who is the object, the words can move around to change the emphasis. Sentence structure shows how this works.
• Endings do the work of some English prepositions. English says with a pen and to my sister. Ukrainian can say the same with an ending alone: ру́чкою (with a pen), сестрі́ (to my sister).
• Some prepositions need a particular case. After без (without) the noun takes the genitive. After з (with, together with) it takes the instrumental. So each time you learn a preposition, it helps to learn which case comes after it.

The seven cases

Ukrainian nouns have seven cases. Ukrainian dictionaries and textbooks list them in a fixed order, the one used below. Each case has several uses. The job given here is only the main one, simplified, to help you recognise it.

The examples all use сестра́ (sister), except the locative, which is easier to show with a place name.

Nominative: the subject

The nominative is the dictionary form. It is the case of the subject, the one doing the action.

Genitive: “of”, and “no …”

The genitive often means of or shows who something belongs to. It is also used after a negative such as “there is no…”, and after some prepositions, such as без (without).

Dative: “to” or “for” someone

The dative is used for the person something is given or said to, or done for. It also follows some verbs, such as телефонува́ти (to phone).

Accusative: the direct object

The accusative is the case of the direct object: the person or thing the action is done to.

Instrumental: “with” or “by means of”

The instrumental shows the tool or means used to do something. With the preposition з (with), it also shows who you do something together with.

Locative: the place, after a preposition

The locative is used only after a preposition. It often describes a place: where someone or something is. It is also called the prepositional case.

Vocative: calling someone

The vocative is the form used when you speak to someone directly and call them by name or by a word like Mum.

One noun in all seven cases

Here are the seven singular forms of сестра́ side by side. They are here so that you can see the pattern, not so that you learn them now.

The forms come from the dictionary paradigm of сестра́ in Горох. Three things are worth noticing:

• Two cases can share a form. The dative and the locative are both сестрі́. The rest of the sentence, and the preposition in the locative, tell you which one it is.
• Stress can tell forms apart. Сестри́ (of a sister, genitive singular) and се́стри (sisters, nominative plural) are spelled the same. Only the stress is different.
• Stress can move. It falls on the ending in most of these forms, but on the first syllable in the vocative се́стро.

Endings depend on the kind of noun

Each case does not have just one ending. The ending depends on the noun’s gender and on what its dictionary form ends in. Compare the accusative, the direct-object form, of three nouns:

This is why the cases are introduced in stages. First you learn to recognise them. Later you learn the endings for each kind of noun, a group at a time. Pronouns and adjectives have cases too: Pronouns shows a few pronoun forms.

The Ukrainian names of the cases

You will see these names in Ukrainian dictionaries, such as the inflection tables on Горох. The word for “case” is відмі́нок.

Common mistakes and limits