An adjective copies its noun through every case, so a phrase moves as one block. Learn the block, not the two words.
I can decline an adjective and noun together through all six cases.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Мы жывём у новым доме.
We live in a new house.
Гэта хата майго старога дзеда.
This is my old grandfather's house.
Я даў кнігу малодшай сястры.
I gave the book to my younger sister.
Мы едзем з добрымі сябрамі.
We are travelling with good friends.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
You have been declining nouns since module 6. An adjective in front of one is not a separate decision - it copies the noun's gender, number and case. The practical consequence is that стары горад is one unit with six forms, not two words with six each.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| назоўны | новы | новая | новае | новыя |
| родны | новага | новай | новага | новых |
| давальны | новаму | новай | новаму | новым |
| вінавальны | новы / новага | новую | новае | новыя / новых |
| творны | новым | новай | новым | новымі |
| месны | новым | новай | новым | новых |
The feminine has one form, новай, for four cases - genitive, dative, instrumental and locative. Learn that and a third of the table is done. The masculine and neuter are identical everywhere except the nominative and accusative.
Adjectives in -і follow the same pattern with softened vowels: сіні, сіняга, сіняму, сінім, сінія. The endings are the same shape, spelled for a soft stem.
As with nouns, a masculine or plural accusative describing a person or animal borrows the genitive: бачу старога сябра, бачу добрых сяброў.
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises
Practice ExercisesTypical errors: declining the noun and leaving the adjective in the nominative. The phrase moves as a block or not at all.
Declining the noun but not the adjective
The phrase moves as a block: у новым доме, з добрымі сябрамі.
Using -ого, -ому, -ыми
Belarusian has -ага, -аму, -ымі.
Inventing separate feminine forms for four cases
One form, новай, covers genitive, dative, instrumental and locative.
Using the nominative for an animate accusative
Бачу старога сябра, бачу добрых сяброў.
Мы жывём у новым доме.
We live in a new house.
Locative: <em>новым доме</em>. Both words move.
Гэта хата майго старога дзеда.
This is my old grandfather's house.
Three words in the genitive together: possessive, adjective and noun.
Я даў кнігу малодшай сястры.
I gave the book to my younger sister.
Feminine dative <em>малодшай</em> - the same form that serves the genitive, instrumental and locative.
Мы едзем з добрымі сябрамі.
We are travelling with good friends.
Instrumental plural: <em>добрымі сябрамі</em>, both in <em>-мі</em>.
Учора я бачыў старога сябра.
Yesterday I saw an old friend.
A person, so the accusative borrows the genitive - and the adjective goes with it.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises
The current academic reference grammar; the linked edition serves the full text. It defines the adjective as a significant part of speech denoting a non-processual feature and expressing its meaning through the categories of gender, number and case - the definition this article's agreement rules rest on.
The academic reference grammar behind the phonology, orthoepy and morphology sections: the 32-letter inventory, дж and дз as digraphs rather than letters, and the normative description of akanne and jakanne. A print work; no URL is given, because the only one available is a library catalogue record that carries none of the text.