именительный

Russian

Etymology

From имен- (imen-, “name”) +‎ -тельный (-telʹnyj), formed by analogy to other cases such as роди́тельный (rodítelʹnyj, “genitive”) that end in -и́тельный (-ítelʹnyj) (the corresponding verb is actually именова́ть (imenovátʹ, “to name”)). Calque of Ancient Greek ὀνομαστική (onomastikḗ, “for naming”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

имени́тельный • (imenítelʹnyj)

1. (grammar) nominative

   имени́тельный паде́ж

   imenítelʹnyj padéž

   nominative case

Declension

Coordinate terms

Russian cases

• Standard cases, occurring in all (or almost all?) declinable Russian words (nouns, adjectives and pronouns):
  • имени́тельный (imenítelʹnyj): nominative — for the subject or agent
  • роди́тельный (rodítelʹnyj): genitive — for the possessor of something, and with many prepositions
  • да́тельный (dátelʹnyj): dative — for the target of a movement or direction, and with many prepositions
  • вини́тельный (vinítelʹnyj): accusative — for the object or that acted upon, and with many prepositions
  • твори́тельный (tvorítelʹnyj): instrumental — for the means by which an action is performed, and with many prepositions
  • предло́жный (predlóžnyj): prepositional — exclusively with prepositions
• Sporadic cases, occurring in relatively few Russian words:
  • ме́стный (méstnyj): locative — for the place where something is or happens
  • зва́тельный (zvátelʹnyj): vocative — for a person or thing addressed
• Cases used when discussing other languages:
  • отложи́тельный (otložítelʹnyj): ablative — various usages, especially for that from which something is taken away
  • аллати́вный (allatívnyj): allative — for that toward which there is movement