Уро́к 10
10.7 Grammar: Possessive Pronouns, Prepositional Case
Люби́мая Грамма́тика
Possessive Pronouns in the Prepositional Case
This is GRAMMAR. Let me be up front here. This is just serious grammar stuff. Bear with it. It’s SO important in Russian. Read through it and do the Quizlets on the following page. This is part of what makes learning Russian so notoriously challenging. This is the stuff you just have to LEARN.
Recall the possessive pronouns you learned in Unit 1. The endings of the words meaning ‘my’ and ‘your’ change, depending on gender and number. To indicate that something belongs to someone, it is first necessary to know whether it is singular or plural, and if singular, the gender of the item being possessed. For example:
- If a computer belongs to me, I say мой компью́тер.
- If a pen belongs to me, I say моя́ ру́чка.
- If I want to indicate my beer, I say моё пи́во.
- And I want to make sure no one else touches my chips, I say мои́ чи́псы.
The same endings are seen with the word for ‘your’ (sg/informal): твой, твоя́, твоё, твои́
- твой компью́тер
- твоя́ ру́чка
- твоё пи́во
- твои́ чи́псы
The words meaning ‘our’ and ‘your’ (plural/formal) likewise indicate gender and number of the item being possessed.
- our / your computer = наш / ваш компью́тер
- our / your car = на́ша / ва́ша маши́на
- our / your window = на́ше / ва́ше окно
- our / your children = на́ши / ва́ши де́ти
The third person possessive pronouns, meaning ‘his’, ‘her’, and ‘their’, we saw, do not change forms, regardless of gender or number. They are always его́ / её / их regardless of the gender and number of the possessed item.
What happens to all of these words, though, when we want to use them when we are also using the prepositional case? Why would we ever want to do that, you ask? Let’s say, for example, maybe I want to indicate that the pen is not just on any table but on MY table, or that the cat is not on any old car, but on OUR car, or the girl isn’t just in any place, but in HIS place. Well, we use certain endings for these words that indicate not only gender and number, but also prepositional case.
Consider the following Russian translations of the English examples above:
Э́то твоя́ ру́чка. Э́то мой стол.
Твоя́ ру́чка на моём столе́.
Э́то твоя́ ко́шка. Э́то на́ша маши́на.
Твоя́ ко́шка на на́шей маши́не.
Э́то де́вушка. Э́то его́ ме́сто.
Де́вушка на его́ ме́сте.
From these examples, it is not possible to deduce the full declensional paradigm for possessive pronouns in the prepositional case. The DECLENSION TABLE is provided below. You will need to study this table and refer to it many times.
| Object gender / number |
Nominative |
Prepositional | ||||
| 1st prs my |
2nd prs your |
3rd prs his/her/its |
1st prs my |
2nd prs your |
3rd prs his/her/its |
|
|
Singular possessor |
||||||
| Masculine | мой | твой | его́ / её | моём | твоём | его́ / её |
| Neuter | моё | твоё | его́ / её | моём | твоём | его́ / её |
| Feminine | моя́ | твоя́ | его́ / её | мое́й | твое́й | его́ / её |
| Plural | мои́ | твои́ | его́ / её | мои́х | твои́х | его́ / её |
| Object gender / number | Nominative | Prepositional | ||||
| 1st prs our |
2nd prs your |
3rd prs their |
1st prs our |
2nd prs your |
3rd prs their |
|
|
Plural possessor |
||||||
| Masculine | наш | ваш | их | на́шем | ва́шем | их |
| Neuter | на́ше | ва́ше | их | на́шем | ва́шем | их |
| Feminine | на́ша | ва́ша | их | на́шей | ва́шей | их |
| Plural | на́ши | ва́ши | их | на́ших | ва́ших | их |
The two cases are lined up side by side for ease of reference and comparison. Notice that in the Prepositional Case, the masculine and neuter forms are the same. Also, notice that, like in the Nominative Case, the 3rd person possessive pronouns still do not change according to the possessed object’s gender, number, or, now, for case.
A side note on all those endings as we go forward:
Ultimately, you will memorize all forms and then begin to internalize them so that when you speak, you will be able to recall all forms with ease. As concerns all endings, accuracy will ultimately be important during speech, so you will be tested on these forms, BUT as you are simultaneously acquiring fluency, you should not focus on ending accuracy to the extent that you are unable to communicate. If this sounds like a contradictory and impossible yoga pose, it is meant to. You will have to find a balance throughout your tenure of Russian language study of mastering endings, because they are important to speakers, and communicating without constant distraction of endings, because it is also important to get your message across – correct endings or not.
In other words, you will need to DRILL!!! Most drilling will be done by you in your own time.
Recall the forms for plural possessive pronouns in the Prepositional Case:
Possessive Pronouns
| Nominative Case Plural |
Prepositional Case Plural |
| мои́ (1st prs. sg. pl) | в мои́х |
| твои́ (2nd prs. sg.) | в твои́х |
| на́ши (1st prs. pl.) | в на́ших |
| ва́ши (2nd prs. pl.) | в ва́ших |
| его́ (3rd prs. sg.) | в его́ (no change) |
| еë (3rd prs. sg., fem.) | в еë (no change) |
| их (3rd prs. pl.) | в их (no change) |
