{"id":64628,"date":"2019-04-03T04:58:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T08:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/russian-pronouns\/"},"modified":"2025-02-27T04:45:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T09:45:14","slug":"russian-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/russian\/russian-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Pronouns and How They\u2019re Used"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that the third Wednesday of October is International Pronouns Day<\/a>? When this started, it got me thinking about gender-neutral pronouns<\/a> in Russian, such as \u041e\u043d\u043e<\/strong> (it).<\/p>\n

I asked my Russian-speaking friends about using this class of pronouns for people, and there was a shocked silence. This was followed by both nervous gulps and chortles of laughter\u00ad\u2014apparently, this is an insult beyond the pale to some.<\/p>\n

Your choice of Russian pronouns is extremely important<\/strong>, which is why I’m here to get you started with a thorough guide!<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Russian Pronouns: The Complete List<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/td>Nominitive<\/th>Genitive<\/th>Accusative<\/th>Dative<\/th>Instrumental<\/th>Prepositional<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
I<\/strong><\/td> \u042f <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041c\u0435\u043d\u044f <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041c\u0435\u043d\u044f <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041c\u043d\u0435 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041c\u043d\u043e\u0439 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041c\u043d\u0435 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You<\/strong><\/td> \u0422\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0422\u0435\u0431\u044f <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0422\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0422\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0422\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0422\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
He<\/strong><\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0415\u0433\u043e <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
She<\/strong><\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0430 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0415\u0451 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0430 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0430 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0430 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0430 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It<\/strong><\/td> \u041e\u043d\u043e <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0415\u0433\u043e <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
We<\/strong><\/td> \u041c\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041c\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041d\u0430\u0441 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041d\u0430\u043c <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041d\u0430\u043c\u0438 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041d\u0430\u0441 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You (plural)<\/strong><\/td> \u0412\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0412\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0412\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0412\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0412\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td> \u0412\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
They<\/strong><\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0438 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0438 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0438 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0438 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0438 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u041e\u043d\u0438 <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Russian Personal Pronouns<\/h2>\n

Here are a few things to look out for before we dive into each case:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The accusative and genitive cases are similar for all pronouns.<\/p>\n

But for the nominative case, where we have \u043e\u043d\u043e <\/strong> for the neuter gender and \u043e\u043d <\/strong>\u00a0for masculine, the neuter gender uses the same pronouns as the male gender.<\/p>\n

When third-person pronouns are used along with prepositions, add the letter \u043d<\/strong>\u00a0to the pronoun. For example:<\/p>\n

\u0443 \u043d\u0435\u0433\u043e <\/strong> (genitive case)<\/p>\n

\u043f\u0440\u043e \u043d\u0435\u0451 <\/strong> (accusative case)<\/p>\n

Nominative Case (Subject)<\/h3>\n

This is the basic form from which pronouns and nouns are introduced before any inflections for case are made.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n

\u042f \u043b\u044e\u0431\u043b\u044e \u0448\u043e\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0430\u0434. <\/strong>
\nI<\/strong> like chocolate.<\/p>\n

\u041e\u043d\u0438 \u0441\u0435\u0433\u043e\u0434\u043d\u044f \u0438\u0434\u0443\u0442 \u0433\u0443\u043b\u044f\u0442\u044c. <\/strong>
\nThey<\/strong> are going out today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/td>Nominative Case<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Singular<\/td> \u042f <\/a>\n <\/td>I<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u0422\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td>you<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u041e\u043d <\/a>\n <\/td>he<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u041e\u043d\u0430 <\/a>\n <\/td>she<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u041e\u043d\u043e <\/a>\n <\/td>it<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plural<\/td> \u041c\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td>we<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u0412\u044b <\/a>\n <\/td>you<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u041e\u043d\u0438 <\/a>\n <\/td>they<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Genitive Case (Indicating Relationship)<\/h3>\n

In English, the relationship is mostly established by using the\u00a0<\/i>preposition of <\/em>or adding ‘s <\/em>to the end of a noun. But in other languages, such as Latin and Sanskrit, the genitive is used with a range of prepositions.<\/p>\n

The best way to identify the genitive case in Russian is by noting the prepositions that mark it. These are:<\/p>\n