In Russian, nouns are used in two main ways: for things that are alive (animate) and things that are not alive (inanimate). Understanding this is really important so we can make sentences correctly.

Inanimate Nouns:

• These nouns do not change when they are in the accusative case.
• For example:
  • Nominative: "стол" (table)
  • Accusative: "стол" (So, if I say, "I see the table," in Russian it is "Я вижу стол.")

Animate Nouns:

• These nouns do change when we use the accusative case.
• They take the form found in the genitive case for singular nouns.
• For example:
  • Nominative: "человек" (person)
  • Accusative: "человека" (So, if I say, "I see the person," in Russian it is "Я вижу человека.")

Practice:

1. Translate: "I have a book." (inanimate)
   • Answer: "У меня есть книга."
2. Translate: "I like the dog." (animate)
   • Answer: "Мне нравится собаку."

By remembering these differences, we can talk to each other more clearly.