Adjective-Noun Agreement

In Russian, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in terms of gender, number, and case. This agreement affects the adjective endings and is essential for grammatical correctness.

Notes

In Russian, adjective endings change depending on the case of the noun. For example, masculine animate nouns in the accusative case require genitive adjective endings.

Match adjectives with nouns according to gender, number, and case.

Practice Exercises

Make the adjectives agree with the nouns in the following sentences:

Я вижу ___ (красивый) дом.The noun дом (house) is masculine, inanimate, nominative singular, so the adjective takes the hard stem ending -ый. · answer: красивый

Она читает ___ (интересный) книгу.The noun книга (book) is feminine, accusative singular, so the adjective takes the ending -ую. · answer: интересную

Мы покупаем ___ (новый) машины.The noun машины (cars) is plural, nominative, so the adjective takes the plural ending -ые. · answer: новые

Он ищет ___ (старый) друга.The noun друг (friend) is masculine, animate, accusative singular, so the adjective takes the genitive ending -ого. · answer: старого

Adjective-Noun Examples

новый стол (new table)Masculine, inanimate, singular, hard stem

нового студента (new student - accusative)Masculine, animate, singular, soft stem

новая книга (new book)Feminine, singular

новые столы (new tables)Plural, inanimate

новых студентов (new students - accusative)Plural, animate

Rules of Adjective-Noun Agreement

Adjectives change their endings depending on the noun’s gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), animacy (animate or inanimate), number (singular or plural), and case.

Gender/Animacy	Singular Hard Stem	Singular Soft Stem	Plural Hard Stem	Plural Soft Stem	Example Phrases
Masc. Inanimate	-ый	-ий	-ые	-ие	новый стол, синий дом, большие столы
Masc. Animate	-ого	-его	-ых	-их	нового студента, синего кота, больших студентов
Feminine	-ая	-яя	-ые	-ие	новая книга, синяя ручка, большие книги
Neuter	-ое	-ее	-ые	-ие	новое окно, синее море, большие окна

Adjective Formation and Endings

Adjectives are classified into hard and soft stem types. Their endings vary according to the noun’s gender and animacy.