If you already know the accusative singular and want to progress to B1 level, mastering this case in the plural will significantly enrich your expression in Russian. The good news? The accusative plural follows simpler rules than the singular, thanks to a clear logic based on the distinction between animate and inanimate nouns.

In this complete guide, you will discover all the accusative plural endings, the rules for adjective agreement, special cases to know, and practical exercises with their corrections. Whether you are learning Russian independently or following a course, this article will give you the keys to using the accusative plural with confidence.

Accusative plural: nominative or genitive! 🔗

Just like the accusative singular where endings vary by gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and the animate/inanimate distinction — whether the noun designates a living being or an object — the accusative plural follows the same logic:

For inanimate nouns (objects, abstract concepts, places), the accusative plural is always identical to the nominative plural. You have no new forms to memorize for these nouns!

For animate nouns (people and animals), the accusative plural is always identical to the genitive plural. This rule applies systematically, regardless of the noun’s gender (masculine, feminine or neuter).

This clear logic allows you to build sentences quickly without hesitation. Once you have memorized the nominative and genitive plural forms, you automatically know the accusative plural!

Accusative plural endings for inanimate nouns (= nominative plural) 🔗

Since the accusative of inanimate nouns exactly reproduces the nominative plural forms, let’s review these essential endings:

Masculine inanimate nouns 🔗

• Hard stem ending → -ы: стол (table) → столы́
• Soft stem or -й ending → -и: слова́рь (dictionary) → словари́; музе́й (museum) → музе́и

Feminine inanimate nouns 🔗

• -а ending → -ы: кни́га (book) → кни́ги
• -я ending → -и: неде́ля (week) → неде́ли
• Soft -ь ending → -и: те́традь (notebook) → тетра́ди

Neuter inanimate nouns 🔗

• -о ending → -а: окно́ (window) → о́кна
• -е ending → -я: мо́ре (sea) → моря́

Examples 🔗

• Я ви́жу краси́вые сады́ (I see beautiful gardens)
• Мы чита́ем интере́сные кни́ги (We read interesting books)
• Он покупа́ет но́вые слова́ри (He buys new dictionaries)
• Они́ смо́трят францу́зские фи́льмы (They watch French films)

Accusative plural endings for animate nouns (= genitive plural) 🔗

For animate nouns (human beings and animals), the accusative plural systematically takes the genitive plural form. Here are the main endings by grammatical gender:

Masculine animate nouns 🔗

• Masculine ending in a hard consonant → -ов: студе́нт (student) → студе́нтов
• Masculine ending in -й → -ев: геро́й (hero) → геро́ев
• Masculine ending in a sibilant -ч, -щ, -ш, -ж → -ей: врач (doctor) → враче́й
• Masculine ending in a soft consonant → -ей: учи́тель (teacher) → учителе́й

The majority of masculine nouns end in a hard consonant in the singular. In this case, the accusative plural marker is the ending -ов. This is the most frequent case you will encounter.

For nouns ending in the soft sign -ь, the ending becomes -ей. This is a very common form for professions or statuses. Thus, учи́тель becomes учителе́й and гость becomes госте́й. Note that this ending -ей is always stressed if the word is short or if the stress moves to the end.

For nouns whose stem ends in a sibilant (-ж, -ч, -ш, -щ), the ending -ей is systematically used instead of -ов. That is why врач becomes враче́й and това́рищ becomes това́рищей.

The mobile vowel phenomenon 🔗

Unlike feminine nouns where a vowel often appears in the plural, masculine nouns often present a mobile vowel that behaves inversely: it is present in the nominative singular but disappears as soon as a plural ending is added. This phenomenon mainly concerns the vowels -о- or -е- located in the last syllable of the word.

Take the example of оте́ц. When moving to the accusative plural, the -е- disappears to make way for the ending, giving отцо́в. The same applies to many nationality nouns ending in -ец, such as америка́нец which becomes америка́нцев. This “loss” of the vowel maintains a more dynamic rhythm in the pronunciation of the declined word.

Feminine animate nouns 🔗

• -а ending → -∅ (removal of ending): сестра́ (sister) → сестёр
• -я ending → -ь: тётя (aunt) → тёть
• -ь ending → -ей: ло́шадь (horse) → лошаде́й

For feminine nouns ending in the vowel -а, the transformation consists of removing this final vowel. This is called a “zero ending.” This is how ма́ма becomes ма́м and же́нщина becomes же́нщин.

This is where the mobile vowel phenomenon comes in. In Russian, the meeting of two consonants at the end of a word after the loss of -а is often considered too difficult to pronounce. To smooth out speech, the language inserts a supporting vowel, usually -о- or -е-, between these two consonants.

For example, for де́вочка, removing the -а would leave a difficult final cluster. So -е- is inserted, giving де́вочек. Similarly, for студе́нтка, we get студе́нток with the insertion of -о-. The choice between these two vowels often depends on the preceding consonant: -е- is preferred after sibilants or soft consonants, while -о- appears more readily in other cases.

For feminine nouns ending in -я → -ь. The vowel most often disappears in favor of a soft sign to keep the consonant soft, as in ня́ня which becomes нянь or тётя which becomes тёть. The ending -ей is used for certain nouns whose stem ends in a stressed vowel, as in свинья́ which becomes свине́й. Nouns ending in -ия see their ending become -ий.

Finally, for feminine nouns ending in a soft sign -ь, the ending becomes -ей. For example, мышь (mouse) becomes мыше́й and дочь becomes дочере́й (with the stem extension -ер-).

Neuter animate nouns (rare) 🔗

• -ое ending → -ых: живо́тное (animal) → живо́тных (adjectival noun)

Examples 🔗

• Я ви́жу мои́х друзе́й (I see my friends)
• Она́ лю́бит свои́х роди́телей (She loves her parents)
• Мы встреча́ем но́вых студе́нтов (We welcome new students)
• Они́ зна́ют всех враче́й (They know all the doctors)
• Он ви́дит лошаде́й (He sees horses)

Adjective agreement in the accusative plural 🔗

Adjectives agree with the nouns they modify. In the accusative plural, unlike nouns, adjectives only vary based on whether the noun is animate or inanimate, without gender distinction:

• но́вые столы́, но́вые кни́ги, но́вые о́кна (same adjective но́вые for all 3 genders, inanimate)
• но́вых студе́нтов, но́вых де́вушек, но́вых живо́тных (same adjective но́вых for all 3 genders, animate)

1. Adjectives with inanimate nouns 🔗

The adjective takes the nominative plural form:

• Hard ending → -ые: но́вый (new) → но́вые
• Soft ending → -ие: си́ний (blue) → си́ние

Examples:

• Я чита́ю интере́сные кни́ги (I read interesting books)
• Мы смо́трим ста́рые фотогра́фии (We look at old photos)
• Они́ изуча́ют тру́дные языки́ (They study difficult languages)
• Мы лю́бим ле́тние дни (We love summer days)

2. Adjectives with animate nouns 🔗

The adjective takes the genitive plural form:

• Hard ending → -ых: но́вый → но́вых
• Soft ending → -их: си́ний → си́них

Examples:

• Я ви́жу но́вых студе́нтов (I see new students)
• Она́ зна́ет хоро́ших враче́й (She knows good doctors)
• Мы встреча́ем ста́рых друзе́й (We meet old friends)
• Мы лю́бим ру́сских писа́телей (We love Russian writers)
• Я ви́жу зелёные дере́вья и се́рых во́лков (I see green trees and gray wolves). Trees (inanimate) stay in the nominative, wolves (animate) go to the genitive.

Special cases and exceptions to know 🔗

Here are the main special cases of the accusative plural:

Nouns with irregular genitive plural 🔗

Some very common nouns have an irregular genitive plural, which directly affects their accusative plural animate form:

• ребёнок (child) → дете́й: Я ви́жу дете́й (I see children)
• челове́к (person) → люде́й: Мы зна́ем мно́гих люде́й (We know many people)
• друг (friend) → друзе́й: Она́ пригласи́ла свои́х друзе́й (She invited her friends)

These irregular forms are extremely common in spoken language, so it is essential to memorize them.

Nouns that only exist in the plural 🔗

Some Russian nouns only exist in the plural. In the accusative, they follow standard rules based on whether they are animate or inanimate:

• очки́ (glasses) - inanimate: Я забы́л свои́ очки́ (I forgot my glasses)
• де́ньги (money) - inanimate: Он потра́тил все де́ньги (He spent all the money)
• часы́ (clock/watch) - inanimate: Я купи́л но́вые часы́ (I bought a new watch)
• роди́тели (parents) - animate: Он лю́бит свои́х роди́телей (He loves his parents)

Animal nouns: a subtlety to know 🔗

In Russian, animal nouns are generally considered animate and therefore take the genitive plural form in the accusative. However, in certain contexts (hunting, fishing, meat), they may be treated as inanimate:

• Я ви́жу соба́к (I see dogs - animate, living)
• Охо́тник уби́л два медве́дя (The hunter killed two bears - inanimate usage in hunting context)

Possessive adjectives 🔗

Possessives follow exactly the same rules as qualifying adjectives.

Мой, твой, свой 🔗

With inanimate nouns: -и (nominative plural form)

• мой → nominative pl. мои́ → accusative pl. мои́
  • Я ви́жу мои́ кни́ги (I see my books)
  • Он взял свои́ вещи (He took his things)

With animate nouns: -их (genitive plural form)

• мой → genitive pl. мои́х → accusative pl. мои́х
  • Я ви́жу мои́х друзе́й (I see my friends)
  • Она́ лю́бит свои́х дете́й (She loves her children)

Наш, ваш 🔗

With inanimate nouns: -и

• наш → nominative pl. на́ши → accusative pl. на́ши
  • Мы чита́ем на́ши кни́ги (We read our books)

With animate nouns: -их

• наш → genitive pl. на́ших → accusative pl. на́ших
  • Мы встреча́ем на́ших колле́г (We meet our colleagues)

Его́, её, их: invariable 🔗

These forms never change, regardless of the case:

• Я ви́жу его́ кни́ги (I see his books)
• Я ви́жу его́ друзе́й (I see his friends)
• Она́ лю́бит её дете́й (She loves her children)
• Мы зна́ем их роди́телей (We know their parents)

Demonstrative adjectives 🔗

Demonstratives decline like qualifying adjectives:

With inanimate nouns:

• э́тот → nominative pl. э́ти → accusative pl. э́ти
  • Я чита́ю э́ти кни́ги (I read these books)
  • Мы смо́трим э́ти фи́льмы (We watch these films)

With animate nouns:

• э́тот → genitive pl. э́тих → accusative pl. э́тих
  • Я зна́ю э́тих люде́й (I know these people)
  • Она́ встреча́ет э́тих студе́нтов (She meets these students)

Other demonstratives:

• тот (that): те (inanimate) / тех (animate)
• весь (all): все (inanimate) / всех (animate)
  • Я ви́жу все дома́ (I see all the houses)
  • Я зна́ю всех студе́нтов (I know all the students)

Interrogative and relative pronouns 🔗

Кто (who) and что (what) 🔗

These pronouns have a single form and can therefore refer to the plural depending on context:

• кто → кого́

  • Кого́ вы ви́дите? (Who do you see?)
  • Я зна́ю, кого́ они́ встреча́ют (I know who they are meeting)

• что → что

  • Что вы чита́ете? (What are you reading?)
  • Я зна́ю, что он покупа́ет (I know what he is buying)

Кото́рый (who, that - relative) 🔗

The relative pronoun declines like an adjective:

With inanimate antecedent: кото́рые

• Вот кни́ги, кото́рые я чита́ю. (Here are the books that I read.)
• Э́то фи́льмы, кото́рые мы смо́трим. (These are the films that we watch.)

With animate antecedent: кото́рых

• Вот студе́нты, кото́рых я зна́ю. (Here are the students that I know.)
• Э́то друзья́, кото́рых я встреча́ю. (These are the friends that I meet.)

Како́й (which) 🔗

With inanimate nouns: каки́е

• Каки́е кни́ги вы чита́ете? (Which books are you reading?)

With animate nouns: каки́х

• Каки́х студе́нтов вы зна́ете? (Which students do you know?)

Main uses of the accusative in Russian 🔗

Here are the four main situations where this grammatical case is required:

1. Direct object (most frequent use) 🔗

The accusative plural is used to express the direct object of a transitive verb — that is, what undergoes the action of the verb:

With inanimate nouns:

• Я чита́ю кни́ги (I read books)
• Мы смо́трим фи́льмы (We watch films)
• Она́ покупа́ет я́блоки (She buys apples)
• Они́ изуча́ют языки́ (They study languages)
• Он пи́шет письма́ (He writes letters)

With animate nouns:

• Я ви́жу студе́нтов (I see students)
• Мы встреча́ем друзе́й (We meet friends)
• Она́ зна́ет враче́й (She knows doctors)
• Они́ лю́бят роди́телей (They love their parents)
• Он пригласи́л колле́г (He invited colleagues)
• Мы встреча́ем профессоро́в (We meet the professors)

2. After certain prepositions of movement 🔗

The prepositions в (into, toward) and на (onto, to) require the accusative when they express movement toward a place (direction):

• Мы е́дем в больши́е города́ (We are going to large cities)
• Они́ идут на интере́сные ле́кции (They are going to interesting lectures)

Note: if the preposition expresses a static location (where?) rather than movement (toward where?), the prepositional case is used, not the accusative. Compare:

• Я иду́ в магази́ны (I am going to the stores - movement, accusative)
• Я в магази́нах (I am in the stores - location, prepositional)

3. Expressing time (duration and repetition) 🔗

The accusative plural is used to express the duration of an action or its regular repetition:

• Все дни я рабо́тал (I worked every day)
• Це́лые неде́ли он не звони́л (He did not call for entire weeks)
• Мно́гие го́ды они́ жи́ли за грани́цей (For many years, they lived abroad)
• Пе́рвые ме́сяцы бы́ло тру́дно (The first months were difficult)

This construction is very common in written language and allows precise expression of the timing of actions.

4. With numbers and quantifiers: watch out for the genitive! 🔗

This is a classic trap: after the numbers 2, 3, 4 and quantifiers like не́сколько (a few), мно́го (many), ма́ло (few), the genitive is used and not the accusative, even when it is a direct object:

• Я ви́жу два дома́ (I see two houses - genitive singular, not accusative plural)
• Она́ зна́ет не́сколько студе́нтов (She knows a few students - genitive plural, not accusative plural)
• Мы купи́ли пять книг (We bought five books - genitive plural)

This rule often surprises English speakers, but it is absolute in Russian. Only numbers ending in оди́н (один, два́дцать оди́н, etc.) are followed by the accusative.

Summary table: all accusative plural forms 🔗

MASCULINE NOUNS

• Inanimate: = Nominative plural (-ы/-и)

  • столы́ → столы́ (tables)
  • музе́и → музе́и (museums)

• Animate: = Genitive plural (-ов/-ев/-ей)

  • студе́нты → студе́нтов (students)
  • учителя́ → учителе́й (teachers)

FEMININE NOUNS

• Inanimate: = Nominative plural (-ы/-и)

  • кни́ги → кни́ги (books)
  • неде́ли → неде́ли (weeks)

• Animate: = Genitive plural (-∅/-ь/-ей)

  • сёстры → сестёр (sisters)
  • тёти → тёть (aunts)

NEUTER NOUNS

• Inanimate: = Nominative plural (-а/-я)

  • о́кна → о́кна (windows)
  • моря́ → моря́ (seas)

• Animate: = Genitive plural (-ых with -н-)

  • живо́тные → живо́тных (animals)

ADJECTIVES

• With inanimate nouns: -ые/-ие (nominative plural form)
• With animate nouns: -ых/-их (genitive plural form)

Practical exercises with corrections 🔗

Here are three exercises to test your knowledge:

Exercise 1: identify the correct case 🔗

Put the words in parentheses into the accusative plural:

1. Я ви́жу (краси́вый дом) ____________
2. Мы встреча́ем (ста́рый друг) ____________
3. Она́ чита́ет (интере́сная кни́га) ____________
4. Они́ зна́ют (хоро́ший учи́тель) ____________
5. Вы лю́бите (францу́зский фильм) ____________

Exercise 2: animate or inanimate? 🔗

Complete with the correct form of the adjective но́вый:

1. Я купи́л ________ компью́теры (computers)
2. Мы пригласи́ли ________ сосе́дей (neighbors)
3. Она́ чита́ет ________ рома́ны (novels)
4. Они́ встреча́ют ________ колле́г (colleagues)

Exercise 3: translate from English to Russian 🔗

Translate these sentences using the accusative plural:

1. I see beautiful houses.
2. We meet new students.
3. She reads interesting books.
4. They know good doctors.
5. You watch French films.
6. I buy fresh apples.
7. We invite our friends.
8. She loves her children.
9. They study foreign languages.
10. I meet my old colleagues.

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Answer key 🔗

Exercise 1:

1. краси́вые дома́
2. ста́рых друзе́й
3. интере́сные кни́ги
4. хоро́ших учителе́й
5. францу́зские фи́льмы

Exercise 2:

1. но́вые (inanimate)
2. но́вых (animate)
3. но́вые (inanimate)
4. но́вых (animate)

Exercise 3:

1. Я ви́жу краси́вые дома́.
2. Мы встреча́ем но́вых студе́нтов.
3. Она́ чита́ет интере́сные кни́ги.
4. Они́ зна́ют хоро́ших враче́й.
5. Вы смо́трите францу́зские фи́льмы.
6. Я покупа́ю све́жие я́блоки.
7. Мы приглаша́ем на́ших друзе́й.
8. Она́ лю́бит свои́х дете́й.
9. Они́ изуча́ют иностра́нные языки́.
10. Я встреча́ю мои́х ста́рых колле́г.

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Common mistakes for English speakers learning the accusative plural 🔗

I have identified three recurring mistakes to absolutely avoid:

Mistake #1: confusing singular and plural rules Many learners apply the same gender distinctions to the plural as they do to the singular. But in the plural, only animacy matters, not gender! An inanimate feminine noun follows exactly the same rule as an inanimate masculine noun.

Mistake #2: forgetting adjective agreement based on animacy Saying “я ви́жу но́вые студе́нтов” (adjective in nominative plural for an animate noun) is a classic error. The correct form is “я ви́жу но́вых студе́нтов” (adjective in genitive plural because the noun is animate).

Mistake #3: using the accusative after numbers After 2, 3, 4 and quantifiers like не́сколько or мно́го, the genitive is always used, never the accusative, even for a direct object. This is counterintuitive for an English speaker but absolutely systematic in Russian.

Tips for mastering the accusative plural 🔗

1. Remember the rule: Inanimate = Nominative / Animate = Genitive. This simple formula must become a reflex.

2. Practice with complete sentences rather than isolated words. Your brain memorizes structures better in their context of use.

3. Create thematic lists: group nouns by categories (family, professions, everyday objects) and practice putting them systematically into the accusative plural.

4. Memorize the verbs that govern the accusative: ви́деть, чита́ть, лю́бить, знать, встреча́ть, покупа́ть, слу́шать. As soon as you use one of these verbs with a plural complement, think accusative!

5. Practice regularly: 10 minutes a day is better than an hour a week. Spaced repetition is the key to lasting memorization.

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To deepen your mastery of Russian cases and progress methodically toward B1, discover my textbooks with hundreds of corrected exercises. Each lesson builds on the previous ones to guarantee progress without gaps.

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This article is part of our complete series on Russian plural grammatical cases. Also check out our guides on the genitive plural, the dative plural, the instrumental plural and the locative plural for a complete mastery of Russian cases.