назоўны, родны, давальны, вінавальны, творны, месны - what each case is for, one full paradigm, and the consonant changes г-з, к-ц, х-с that catch every beginner.
I can name the six cases, say what each is for, and use the nominative, accusative and locative correctly in everyday sentences.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Я жыву ў Мінску.
I live in Minsk.
Кніга на стале.
The book is on the table.
Гэта мая сям'я.
This is my family.
У Полацку я быў у старой царкве.
In Polatsk I was in an old church.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
A Belarusian noun changes its ending according to its job in the sentence. There are six such endings, and they are what let the word order be free.
| Case | Belarusian name | Questions | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | назоўны | хто? што? | the subject | кніга ляжыць |
| Genitive | родны | каго? чаго? | of, absence, after most prepositions of place | няма кнігі |
| Dative | давальны | каму? чаму? | the recipient | дай кнізе месца |
| Accusative | вінавальны | каго? што? | the direct object, direction | чытаю кнігу |
| Instrumental | творны | кім? чым? | by, with, alongside | з кнігай |
| Locative | месны | (аб) кім? (аб) чым? | location - only ever with a preposition | у кнізе |
| Case | masculine: горад | feminine: кніга | neuter: возера |
|---|---|---|---|
| назоўны | горад | кніга | возера |
| родны | горада | кнігі | возера |
| давальны | гораду | кнізе | возеру |
| вінавальны | горад | кнігу | возера |
| творны | горадам | кнігай | возерам |
| месны | у горадзе | у кнізе | на возеры |
Look at горад → у горадзе and кніга → у кнізе. Before the dative and locative endings three consonants regularly change, and this catches every beginner:
The last two are dzekanne and tsekanne working inside the paradigm, and they are the reason a case form can look like a different word.
At A1 you need the nominative for naming things, the accusative for objects and destinations, and the locative for saying where you are. The academic grammar's declension section, which sets out the first, second and third declensions, is where to go once these three are secure.
English marks case only on pronouns (I against me). Belarusian marks it on every noun, adjective and number in the phrase, which is why one small change of meaning can rewrite three words at once. Learn whole phrases rather than isolated nouns.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesTypical errors: leaving nouns in the dictionary form because English marks case only on pronouns; and changing the noun but not the adjective or number in front of it.
Using Russian case endings
Belarusian endings differ! у Мінску (not в Минске), на стале (not на столе with е).
Я жыву ў Мінску.
I live in Minsk.
The locative after <em>у</em>. Location, not direction - going to Minsk would be <em>у Мінск</em>.
Кніга на стале.
The book is on the table.
Nominative subject, locative after <em>на</em>, and no verb between them.
Гэта мая сям'я.
This is my family.
Everything stays nominative: this is an identification, not an action.
У Полацку я быў у старой царкве.
In Polatsk I was in an old church.
Two locatives, and <em>Полацк</em> shows the к changing to ц. St Sophia's in Polatsk goes back to the eleventh century.
Мы едзем з сябрам на Нарач.
We are going to Narach with a friend.
Instrumental after <em>з</em> for company, accusative after <em>на</em> for the destination - the same preposition would take the locative for a position.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
The current academic reference grammar; the linked edition serves the full text. Cited for its declension section, which sets out the first, second and third declensions, notes that plural-only nouns decline on those same patterns, and treats маці as a noun of its own.
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.