What questions are answered by cases? Questions of instrumental case. Prepositional Matters

For coherent speech in Russian, the same words can be used in different forms, it can be singular or plural, feminine, masculine or neuter, as well as declensions with changing endings. And it is the cases that show the syntactic role and connection of words in the sentence that play a particularly important role in the construction of correct statements. The nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numerals are subject to declination. And in the study of the Russian language, it is very important to learn how to determine the case form of these parts of speech and to know what questions the cases answer.

The main cases of the Russian language

The case system of the Russian language is simple enough to learn, however, it has several features. Therefore, in the school curriculum, a huge amount of time is devoted to this topic. First of all, children are introduced to what questions the cases answer and how they are called. As a rule, only six main cases are presented to schoolchildren’s attention, although in fact they are much more, however, due to the close similarity, varieties of obsolete case forms have been combined with the main ones. Although, linguists are still debating about this.

Nominative

The nominative case in abbreviated form is recorded by Him. n. Nominative cases - who? So what? For all parts of speech, this form of the word is initial and can be the name of an object, person or natural phenomenon, and in the sentence always acts as the subject. For instance:

The girl left the room; The sun was setting over the horizon.

Also in the nominative case may be the nominal part of the compound predicate. For instance:

Nikita is my son; Alexander Vasilievich - Director.

Also always in the nominative case is the main member of the one-compound sentence and appeal. For instance:

Noise, noise, reeds; Here is the old house.

Genitive

The use of the genitive can be both after verbs and after names. Words with such declination answer the questions of whom? why? In abbreviated form it is written down R. p.

This form of words has diverse meanings and syntactic applications. The verb genitive can indicate the following:

• in the case when the verb carries with it a denial: do not demolish your head, do not tell the truth;
• if the action does not apply to the entire subject, but only to its part: drink water, eat soup, chop wood.

The accepted genitive can indicate a number of relationships:

• belonging to someone or something: mother’s house, doll dress;
• the relation of something whole to any part: hotel room, tree branch;
• assessment or determination of qualities: a green cap, tears of happiness, a person of the word.

That is why, for the correct definition of the case form, it is very important to know what questions the cases answer.

Nouns used in the genitive case together with adjectives of comparison indicate that subject or person with whom they are compared. For instance:

More beautiful than Natasha, whiter than snow, faster than lightning.

Dative

To understand how to use the word in a particular case, you need to clearly know what questions the cases answer, in which case a certain form of declension is used. So, for example, the dative case (to whom? Why?) Of words is most often put after verbs and only in a few cases after words denoting objects.

Mostly the words in this case are used to indicate the main subject to which the action is directed.

For instance:

Say hello to a friend, threaten the enemy, an order to subordinates.

In impersonal sentences, words in the dative case can be used as a predicate. For instance:

Sasha was scared. The boy was cold. The patient is getting worse.

Accusative

The questions of the accusative case are similar to the questions of other cases, namely, the genitive and nominative. So, to an animate object is the question of whom? and to the inanimate - what? And quite often, schoolchildren confuse this case with the nominative, so for a correct definition, first of all, in the sentence it is necessary to highlight the grammatical basis. Words in this case form are most often used with verbs and designate an object to which the action completely passes.

For instance:

Catch fish, clean shoes, sew a skirt, bake a pie.

Also, the words in the accusative case can express the number, time, space and distance. For instance:

A whole summer, every minute, every year.

Instrumental case

Like other case forms, instrumental cases have two forms for living and nonliving objects. These are special issues that you cannot confuse with other forms. So, for an animate object, instrumental case answers the question by whom? For instance:

He knew (with whom?) Oksana and (with whom?) Her mother .

For an inanimate object, instrumental case answers the question with what? For instance:

He fed (with what?) Bread, watered (with what?) Water.

As a rule, this form of words is used in combination with verbs that are closely related to names.

Such a case form of words with verbs always acts as a means and instrument of action, can be a way or a way of action, and also have the meanings of time, place, space and who the action is performed. For instance:

He beat the dog (with what?) With a stick.

The old man propped himself up (with what?) With his palm.

The road led (what?) To the forest.

The tales “Aibolit”, “Confusion” and “Cockroach” were written (by whom?) By Korney Chukovsky.

Also, this case form of words can occur in names and have the following meanings. With nouns:

• instrument of action: beat with a hand, brush;
• character: security of the house by watchmen, release of goods by the seller;
• the content of the action itself: engage in German;
• definitive value: sausage ringlet, singing bass.

With adjectives, the words in the instrumental case are used with the meaning of the restriction of the specified attribute. For instance:

He was a strong mind and famous for his discoveries.

Prepositional

The sixth and last case studied in the school curriculum is prepositional.

Questions of the prepositional case, as well as other case forms, are divided towards living objects (on whom? About whom?) And inanimate (on what? About what?) . Words in this case are always used with prepositions, and this is where the name of the case itself comes from. Depending on the preposition used, the meaning also changes; the questions of the prepositional case are always built using the same prepositions that are used in specific cases in the context.

The use of prepositions with words in the prepositional case

For the correct definition of the case form of words and the correct use of them in speech, it is very important to know how cases are connected with questions and prepositions when using different forms of words in sentences.

Each of the prepositions used gives the word its own meaning:

• o, o, o - the designation of the subject in question: thoughts about you;
• in, in - indicates an object, time, place and space: at midnight, in a box, in all its glory and so on;
• na - is used to indicate the place where something is or is happening: on the table, at the station;
• when - is used to clarify near what or in the presence of whom the object in question is located: on the road, under King Pea.
  

What role do cases, questions and prepositions play

The table of prepositions that are used in combination with various case forms of words plays a huge role in the study of the case system of the Russian language.

After all, they, joining nouns, can reveal various meanings of the same word.

Declension of nouns, adjectives and numerals by cases

One of the main topics of this section of the Russian language is the theme: "Declination by cases". As a result of such a change, the word is transformed, acquiring a new ending, which is important enough for the correct construction of speech. Declension occurs by changing the word so that it answers the questions of each case. The declension of nouns is independent in nature, while adjectives and numerals in context always depend on the case in which the word associated with them stands.

In the case of the declension of the numerals, the question can also be modified, as for the adjective, making it easier to decline the word.

The purpose of the school curriculum is to teach children not only to correctly determine the case form of words in a particular sentence, but also to be able to correctly use the preposition, which will fully reveal the meaning of the statement. Such skills are very important for building competent speech. That is why this topic is given special attention and a sufficient number of Russian language lessons so that children can not only learn, but also fix this material well.