The accusative

What you will practice

• Leave an inanimate masculine object in the dictionary form.
• Change a feminine noun in -а to -у.
• Use the genitive form for an animate masculine object.

Explanation

Inanimate masculine

Я вижу стол keeps стол in the dictionary form because the table is masculine and not alive. Я вижу брат is the error that copies that pattern onto a person. A person who is masculine uses the genitive shape as the object: Я вижу брата. The extra -а is the sign that the object is animate.

Feminine

A feminine noun in -а changes to -у: книга becomes книгу. Я читаю книгу is the object. Я читаю книга leaves the dictionary form, which is not the feminine accusative. Neuter окно stays окно, like an inanimate masculine noun. This lesson’s contrast is the masculine pair, not the neuter.

Animate masculine

The question кого asks for an animate object, and что asks for an inanimate one. Кого ты видишь? can be answered with брата. Что ты видишь? can be answered with стол. Choosing the question word is another way to see the same split. Do not put брата in the dictionary form just because стол did not change.

Examples

1. Я вижу стол.an inanimate object
2. Я читаю книгу.a feminine object
3. Я вижу брата.an animate object
4. Кого ты видишь?the animate question
5. Что ты видишь?the inanimate question

Common mistakes

• Я вижу брата is animate. Я вижу стол is inanimate. The endings are supposed to differ.
• Feminine книга becomes книгу, not книгы.