Plural direct objects and word order
Case morphology keeps subject and object roles visible even when Russian rearranges the sentence.
- With inanimate nouns, case forms can coincide and context does more work. With animate nouns, genitive-like accusative often makes the object overtly distinct.
| Sentence | Subject | Object |
|---|---|---|
| Студе́нты чита́ют кни́ги. | студе́нты (nom.) | кни́ги (acc. inan.) |
| Кни́ги чита́ют студе́нты. | студе́нты (nom.) | кни́ги (acc. inan.) |
| Дете́й слу́шают учителя́. | учителя́ (nom.) | дете́й (acc. anim.) |
| Учителя́ слу́шают дете́й. | учителя́ (nom.) | дете́й (acc. anim.) |
Mini-check
1. Find the object: Друзе́й встреча́ют студе́нты. 2. Why can кни́ги be ambiguous in isolation?
Apply this next
- Retrieve the rule without looking, then continue to the next lesson.