Accusative case. Uses

Direct object

  1. A noun in Russian is in the accusative case when it is the direct object of a verb.
  2. The direct object in a sentence receives the action of the verb, and it answers the question whom? or what?
    John invited David to a party.
    David invited John to a party.
  3. The person whom the subject invited to the party is the direct object of the verb. In English we can tell who was invited only by the word order: the direct object follows the verb.
  4. With most nouns in Russian it is possible to tell which noun in a sentence is the direct object by the ending that it takes, regardless of where it is located in the sentence.

Days of the week

  1. To answer the question "on what day of the week" something happens, in Russian we use the preposition в and the day of the week in the accusative case. Examples:
    В среду мы не работаем.
    Мой брат приходит в четверг.
    В воскресенье они едут в Москву.

Verbs of motion

  1. In Russian we use the accusative case with the prepositions в and на when the noun indicates the direction (place) toward which something or someone is moving. The place will be in the accusative case, and it will answer the question куда?
    Они идут в ресторан.
    Сергей едет на работу.

Time

  1. In Russian we use the expression "сколько времени?" to ask "for how long" something takes place. Another meaning of this question is "What time is it?".
  2. The answer to this question is always in the accusative case: Сколько времени вы читали?
    Весь день.
    Всю субботу.
    Всё утро.

Copyright ©. George Mitrevski. Auburn University. e-mail:mitrege@auburn.edu