Adjective Case Endings

Level 3Sounds Like prymetníkí ŭ uskosnyh sklonah

When a noun changes its case, the adjective in front of it changes too: новы дом → у новым доме (in the new house), новая сяброўка → з новай сяброўкай (with a new friend).

How It Works

1. Masculine and neuter (новы, новае).

  • Genitive новага: каля новага дома (near the new house)
  • Dative новаму: новаму сябру (to a new friend)
  • Accusative: the same as the nominative for things (новы дом), the same as the genitive for people and animals (новага сябра)
  • Instrumental новым: з новым сябрам (with a new friend)
  • Locative новым: у новым доме (in the new house)

2. Feminine (новая). The genitive, dative, instrumental and locative all end in -ай: новай. The accusative is новую. The instrumental also has a longer form, новаю, which you will mostly see in writing.

3. Plural (новыя). The genitive and locative are новых, the dative is новым, and the instrumental is новымі. The accusative is новыя for things and новых for people and animals (see animate accusative).

4. Stressed endings keep о. When the stress falls on the ending, write о instead of а: малады (young) → маладога, маладому, маладой, маладую; стары (old) → старога. This is the akanye rule at work.

5. Stems in г, к, х. These adjectives write і where others have ы: дарагі (dear) → дарагога, дарагому, дарагім; plural дарагіх, дарагім, дарагімі.

Tip: the masculine and neuter locative ends in -ым, just like the instrumental: у новым доме. Adjectives with a soft stem, such as сіні, use matching soft endings (see soft-stem adjectives).

Examples (6)

  1. Я жыву ў новым доме.

    I live in a new house.

    Locative masculine: у новым доме.

  2. Я пазнаёмілася з новай суседкай.

    I met my new neighbor.

    Instrumental feminine: з новай суседкай. The speaker is a woman.

  3. Я дапамагаю малодшаму брату.

    I am helping my younger brother.

    Dative masculine: the unstressed ending is -аму.

  4. Мы жывём каля старога парку.

    We live near the old park.

    Genitive masculine: стары is stressed on the ending, so it keeps о in старога.

  5. Я чытаю цікавую кнігу.

    I am reading an interesting book.

    Accusative feminine: цікавую кнігу.

  6. Мы размаўлялі з новымі студэнтамі.

    We talked with the new students.

    Instrumental plural: з новымі студэнтамі.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Russian locative ending -ом.

    Я жыву ў новом доме.
    Я жыву ў новым доме.

    In Belarusian the masculine and neuter locative adjective ends in -ым, the same as the instrumental.

  • Writing о in an unstressed ending.

    Я дапамагаю малодшому брату.
    Я дапамагаю малодшаму брату.

    The stress in малодшы is on the stem, so the unstressed ending is written with а: -аму.

  • Writing -ой in an unstressed feminine ending.

    Я пазнаёмілася з новой суседкай.
    Я пазнаёмілася з новай суседкай.

    Новы is stressed on the stem, so the feminine ending is -ай. Only stressed endings keep о: маладой.

How It Connects

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Adjective Case EndingsLevel 3

Learn This First

Adjective case endings need agreement and noun cases.

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