In Russian, full names in the genitive case change mainly in the same way as other proper nouns - depending on the declension to which they belong. Examples of surnames, first names and patronymics in the genitive case: the book of Elena Sergeevna Ivanova, the works of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, the apartment of Maryam Alexandrovna Chernykh.
Declension of surnames in the genitive case
The main inflected types and examples of surnames in the genitive case are presented in the table:
| Masculine | Feminine | Plural | |
| Surnames starting with – ov/ev, – in/yn, – skiy/skoy, – tskiy/tskoy | Petrov, Pshenitsyn, Chatsky, Borovsky | Petrovoy, Pshenitsynoy, Chatskoy, Borovskoy | Petrov, Pshenitsyn, Chatsky, Borovsky |
| Surnames that sound like adjectives | Black, Crimean, Tolstoy, Dashing | Black, Crimean, Tolstoy, Dashing | Black, Crimean, Tolsty, Dashing |
| Surnames that sound like nouns | Miller, King, Crow | Miller, King, Raven | Miller, King, Raven |
| FRIDAYS, Kafka, EARTHS | FRIDAYS, Kafka, EARTHS | Friday, Kafka, Earth | |
| Surnames with fluent vowels | Leo, Hare | Lion, Hare | Lion, Hare |
| Double surnames | Solovyov-Sedogo, Tkach-Preobrazhensky | Solovyova-Sedoy, Tkach-Preobrazhenskaya | Soloviev-Sedykh Tkach-Preobrazhensky |
Declension of names in the genitive case
Examples of declension of names in the genitive case:
Please note: in the name Lyubov in the genitive case the root vowel “o” is not dropped.
Declension of patronymics in the genitive case
In the genitive case, patronymics are declined as follows:
Exceptions
Indeclinable nouns denoting surnames and given names in the genitive case are used in a form homonymous to their initial form. These nouns include:
- French surnames with a stressed ending - a; Surnames with stems in – ko, – e, – i, – y, – yu and consonant with the neuter gender in – o; Surnames without grammatical gender with a base on – their/s; Non-Russian female names with a base on a hard consonant and on – and; Names with endings - o, - y, - yu, - e, - y, .
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1. C declension of surnames ending in -ov (-ev,), -in (-yn), -sky (-tsky),i.e., so-called standard surnames, does not cause difficulties for native speakers. You just need to remember two important rules.
A. Borrowed surnames -ov, -in which belong foreigners, in the form of the instrumental case they have an ending -ohm(as nouns of the second school declension, for example table, table): the theory was proposed by Darwin, the film was directed by Chaplin, the book was written by Cronin.(Interestingly, the pseudonym is also inclined Green, belonging to a Russian writer: the book has been written Green.) Homonymous Russian surnames have the ending - th in the instrumental case: with Chaplin(from the dialect word Chaplya"heron"), with Kronin(from crown).
B. Women's surnames starting with - ina type Currant, Pearl Declined in two ways, depending on the declension of the male surname ( Irina Zhemchuzhina And Irina Zhemchuzhina,Zoya Smorodina And Zoya Smorodina). If the man's surname is Zhemchuzhin, then correct: arrival Irina Zhemchuzhina. If the man's surname is Pearl, then correct: arrival Irina Zhemchuzhina(surname is declined as a common noun pearl).
2. Now we move directly to the so-called non-standard surnames. The first thing to remember: contrary to popular misconception, the gender of the bearer of a surname does not always influence whether one is inclined or not. Even less often, this is influenced by the origin of the surname. First of all, it matters what sound the surname ends with - a consonant or a vowel.
3. Let us immediately describe several groups of indeclinable surnames. In modern Russian literary language don't bow Russian surnames, ending in -ы, -и
(type Black, Long), as well as all surnames, ending in vowels e, i, o, u, y, e, yu.
Examples: notebooks of Irina Chernykh, Lydia Meie, Roman Grymau; the diploma was issued to Viktor Dolgikh, Andrey Gretry, Nikolai Shtanenko, Maya Lee; meeting with Nikolai Kruchenykh and Svetlana Busset.
Note. In colloquial speech and in the language of fiction, reflecting oral speech, it is considered acceptable to decline male surnames into - oh, -them (in Chernykh’s script, meeting with Kruchenykh), as well as the declination of surnames of Ukrainian origin to -ko, -enko according to the declension of feminine nouns -a: go to Semashka, visiting Ustimenka.
4. If the surname ends in a consonant(except for last names on -y, -them, which were mentioned above), then here – and only here! – the gender of the bearer of the surname matters. All male surnames ending in a consonant are declined - this is the law of Russian grammar. All female surnames ending in a consonant are not declined. In this case, the linguistic origin of the surname does not matter. Male surnames that coincide with common nouns are also declined.
Examples: notebook by Mikhail Bok, diplomas issued to Alexander Krug and Konstantin Korol, meeting with Igor Shipelevich, visiting Andrei Martynyuk, daughter of Ilya Skalozub, work by Isaac Akopyan; Notebook by Anna Bok, diplomas issued to Natalya Krug and Lydia Korol, meeting with Yulia Shipelevich, visiting Ekaterina Martynyuk, daughter of Svetlana Skalozub, work by Marina Akopyan.
Note 1. Male surnames of East Slavic origin, which have a fluent vowel during declination, can be declined in two ways - with and without loss of the vowel: Mikhail Zayats And Mikhail Zaits, with Alexander Zhuravel And Alexander Zhuravl, Igor Gritsevets And Igor Gritsevets. In a number of sources, declension without dropping a vowel is considered preferable (i.e. Hare, Crane, Gritsevets), since surnames also perform a legal function. But the final choice is up to the bearer of the surname. It is important to adhere to the chosen type of declination in all documents.
Note 2. Separately, it is necessary to say about surnames ending in a consonant y. If preceded by a vowel And(less often - O), the surname can be declined in two ways. Surnames like Topchiy, Pobozhiy, Bokiy, Rudoy, can be perceived as having endings -yy, -yy and decline as adjectives ( Topchego, Topchego, feminine Topchaya, Topchey), or it is possible - as having a zero ending with declension modeled on nouns ( Topchiya, Topchiya, feminine invariant form Topchy). If you agree th at the end of the surname preceded by any other vowel, the surname follows the general rules (Igor Shakhrai, Nikolai Adzhubey, But Inna Shakhrai, Alexandra Adzhubei).
5. If the surname ends in a vowel -я preceded by another vowel
(eg: Shengelaya, Lomaya, Rhea, Beria, Danelia), she leans.
Examples: Inna Shengelai's notebook, diploma given to Nikolai Lomaya, meeting with Anna Reya; crimes of Lavrentiy Beria, meeting with Georgy Danelia.
6. If the surname ends in a vowel -a preceded by another vowel
(eg: Galois, Maurois, Delacroix, Moravia, Eria, Heredia, Gulia), she doesn't bow.
Examples: notebook Nikolai Galois, diploma issued to Irina Eria, meeting with Igor Gulia.
7. And the last group of surnames - ending in -a, -ya, preceded by a consonant. Here - and only here! – the origin of the surname and the place of emphasis in it matters. There are only two exceptions to remember:
A. Don't bow French surnames with emphasis on the last syllable: books by Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola and Anna Gavalda, goals by Diarra and Drogba.
B. Mostly don't bow Finnish surnames ending in - A unstressed: meeting with Mauno Pekkala(although a number of sources recommend inclining them too).
All other surnames (Slavic, eastern and others; ending in stressed and unstressed -and I) bow down. Contrary to popular belief, surnames that coincide with common nouns are also declined.
Examples: notebook by Irina Groza, diploma issued to Nikolai Mukha, lecture by Elena Kara-Murza, songs by Bulat Okudzhava, roles by Igor Kvasha.
Note. There are fluctuations in the declension of Japanese surnames, but reference books note that recently such surnames have been consistently declined: Kurosawa films.
That, in fact, is all the main rules; as you can see, there are not so many of them. Now we can refute the misconceptions listed above related to the declination of surnames. So, contrary to popular belief: a) there is no rule “all Armenian, Georgian, Polish, etc. surnames are not declined” - the declension of surnames is subject to the laws of language grammar, and if the final element of the surname is amenable to Russian inflection, it is declined; b) the rule “men's surnames are declined, women's are not” does not apply to all surnames, but only to those that end in a consonant; c) the coincidence of the surname in form with common nouns is not an obstacle to their declension.
It is important to remember: the surname is word and, like all words, it must obey the grammatical laws of the language. In this sense there is no difference between the sentences The certificate was issued to Ivan Golod(instead of the correct Golodu Ivan) And The villagers suffered from hunger(instead of suffered from hunger), there is a grammatical error in both sentences.
It is also important to follow the rules for declension of surnames because refusal to change the case of the declension surname can lead to misunderstandings and incidents, disorienting the addressee of the speech. In fact, let’s imagine the following situation: a person with the surname Storm signed his work: article by Nikolai Groz. According to the laws of Russian grammar, a man's surname ending in the genitive case singular. numbers on - A, is restored in its original form, in the nominative case, with a zero ending, so the reader will make an unambiguous conclusion: the author’s name is Nikolai Groz. Submitted to the dean's office work by A. Pogrebnyak will lead to the search for the student (Anna? Antonina? Alisa?) Pogrebnyak, and the student Alexander Pogrebnyak’s belonging to her will still need to be proven. It is necessary to follow the rules of declension of surnames for the same reason that it is necessary to follow the rules of spelling, otherwise a situation arises similar to the famous “opteka” described by L. Uspensky in “A Lay on Words.”
Therefore, we invite you to remember elementary truth No. 8.
Basic Truth No. 8. The declension of surnames is subject to the laws of Russian grammar. There is no rule “all Armenian, Georgian, Polish, etc. surnames are not declined.” The declension of a surname depends primarily on what sound the surname ends with - a consonant or a vowel. The rule “men's surnames are declined, women's are not” does not apply to all surnames, but only to those that end inconsonant. Matching of the surname in form with common nouns(Fly, Hare, Sticketc.) is not an obstacle to their inclination.
At first glance, everything is complicated here. But only for the first one. So, the rules:
- If the surname is foreign language (Goldberg) or Russian (Wolf) and ends with a consonant, then it is declined if it refers to a man (Goldberg, Goldberg), and not declined if it refers to a woman (always Goldberg).
- If the surname is Slavic and ends in -y, -i, then it is never declined, regardless of the gender of the owner.
- Surnames that end in -ch - male ones are inclined (Vulich, Vulich, Vulich), female ones are not inclined (Vulich - always).
- Surnames that coincide with common nouns or proper names (Nose, Rook, Mogila, Mol, Lynx, etc.) are declined for men (Mol, Molya, Molyu) and not declined for women (Mol is Mol, always). There is one BUT: there is such a surname Mouse (and others like it). So, if you want to say that a book has been published by a man whose name is Innokenty Mouse, then it will not sound like a book by Innokenty Mouse (it would seem that this is how you should bow a mouse), but a book by Innokenty Mouse.
- Surnames that end in -ovo, -ako, -yago, -ago - are never declined (for example, Zhivago).
- Surnames that end in vowels (except for unstressed a) - Zola, Maurois, Dumas, etc. - are not declined.
- Surnames starting with -ia are also not declined (Gulia). The same applies to Finnish surnames ending in -a. But surnames are inclined to -iya (Beria, Beria, Beria).
- In official speech, surnames are not inclined to -ko and -o (Franko, Rushailo, Kovalenko). But in fiction and colloquial speech it is often inclined. The same applies to such rare surnames as Tolokno, Soap, etc.
- Surnames that end in -ok, -ek, ets. This is where it gets controversial. But stylistic dictionaries recommend inflecting male surnames with such endings. For example, Alexey Kotenko.
- Another very confusing case is Georgian and Japanese surnames. They are either inclined or not. Lately they have been leaning. Although it is clear that last names with the ending - dze are not very popular. But the surname Chikobava and Okudzhava (both Georgian) can easily be declined (for example, Okudzhava’s songs).
Question, what surnames do not decline, arises quite often, since even among ethnic Russians many surnames are of foreign origin, not to mention foreigners.
Meanwhile, there are several simple rules regarding which surnames are not declined in Russian.
So, Women's surnames are not declined ending with a consonant sound or with a zero ending, for example: Kuzik, Rybak, Swan, Stankevich, etc.
Men's surnames, meanwhile, are declining.
Surnames don't decline ending in O: Gulko, Khomenko, Drozdenko, etc.
Surnames are also not declined foreign ones ending with a vowel sound: Dumas, Hugo, Goethe, etc. But Russian and Slavic surnames are inclined.
Women's surnames that end with a consonant and a soft sign are also not declined: Streplyuk, Pilgul, but mine is Piluy, Pikul
Surnames are definitely not of Russian origin ending with the vowels -a -, - ya-: Migulya, Loza
those ending in -ko: Lysenko, Litvinenko, in -yh-: Belykh, as well as in - ago, -ovo, -yago
I don’t know why, but my mother told me that my surname Nagoga is not inflected, as if it is completely the root of the word and at the end is not the ending, as if it is shortened from Georgian without -shvili ending.
Usually, when it is necessary to remember this or that rule of the Russian language, I try not to memorize sheets of texts, but to find visual tables or structured texts in the form of diagrams and lists.
Here's what we were able to find on this issue:
Agree, it’s easier to remember information this way. These diagrams/tables can be printed. If you still have difficulties memorizing, place these sheets in prominent places where you often visit. Visual memory will do everything for you.
Tell me then what to do with the feminine surname Koleda? Emphasis on (a). It was never declined, only later the question arose when receiving a certificate and when receiving a diploma, the teachers turned to linguists and only after that they wrote everywhere without declensions.
If last names end in -y, -them, then they do not bow (female and male).
Men's surnames that end in a consonant (soft or hard) are declined, but women's names are not.
Consider male and female surnames that end with a vowel sound:
My surname doesn’t decline, it ends in -yn, although as a child I always wrote -inova, and then my parents explained that it doesn’t decline!
Basic rules: Women's surnames that end in a consonant (letter) - Russian and foreign - are not declined. Also, Russian surnames ending in -i and -ih are not declined. Surnames (any, male or female) ending with a vowel, except a, are not declined.
There are also a number of exceptions.
I lived for 30 years and my last name was not declined, but my son went to school and they began to decline it. We write Kodyan, and they sign us Kodian, the surname is Moldavian.
Surnames that end in o, ikh, ich, its are not inclined. Also, male and female surnames do not decline to a vowel, except for the letter a. Surnames that end in y are not yet declined. I think this is the correct answer.
Russia is a multinational country, so there are many names and surnames of different origins.
We have to sign notebooks, fill out documents, and we must put our last name in a certain case and not make a mistake with the ending. This is where difficulties await us. For example, how to say correctly: “reward Lyanka Elena or Lyanka Elena, Bavtruk Timur or Bavtruk Timur, Anton Sedykh or Anton Sedogo»?
Today we will try to understand some aspects of the declension of foreign and Russian-speaking surnames, male and female.
Let's begin with most of the surnames are originally Russian similar in form to adjectives with suffixes -sk-, -in-, -ov- (-ev-): Hvorostovsky, Veselkin, Mikhalkov, Ivanov, Tsarev. They can have both masculine and feminine forms, and can also be used in the plural. At the same time, rarely does anyone have difficulties with declension of such surnames.
I. p. (who? what?) Hvorostovsky, Hvorostovskaya, Hvorostovsky.
R. p. (who? what?) Hvorostovsky, Hvorostovskaya, Hvorostovsky.
D. p. (to whom? what?) Hvorostovsky, Hvorostovskaya, Hvorostovsky.
V. p. (who? what?) Hvorostovsky, Hvorostovskaya, Hvorostovsky.
etc. (by whom? with what?) Hvorostovsky, Hvorostovskaya, Hvorostovsky.
P. p. (about whom? about what?) about Hvorostovsky, about Hvorostovskaya, about the Hvorostovskys.
However, you need to be careful with surnames ending with a consonant or a soft sign. For example, Jackal, Tavgen, Korob, Great-Grandfather. In this case, the declination will depend on What gender does the surname belong to? If we are talking about a woman, then they are similar 
e surnames are indeclinable, but male surnames are indeclinable, like nouns of the 2nd declension husband. R. (such as table, deer). This does not apply to surnames ending in - them(s). For example, go along with Jackal Anna And Jackal Anton, talk about Tavgen Anastasia and about Tavgena Alexandra, walk with Daria's great-grandfather and with Great-grandfather Emelyan.
Some surnames like Child, Kravets, Zhuravel can have variable declension due to the fact that they are similar to common nouns. When declension of nouns occurs dropping a vowel at the end of a word(zhur flight ow I, bathe the rebbe NK a), when declining a surname, the vowel can be preserved to prevent distortion or comical sound of the surname (write Zhuravel, dispatch from child).
Don't bow male and female surnames -s(s). Talk about Diana Sedykh and about Anton Sedykh, write Velimiru Kruchenykh And Antonina Kruchenykh.
All female and male surnames ending in vowels, except -A or -I, are unyielding. For example, Artman, Amadou, Bossuet, Goethe, Galsworthy, Gramsci, Grétry, Debussy, Dzhusoit, Daudet, Camus, Cornu, Lully, Manzu, Modigliani, Navoi, Rustaveli, Ordzhonikidze, Chabukiani, Enescu and many others.
This also includes surnames ending in -O, and surnames of Ukrainian origin in -ko. For example, Hugo, La Rochefoucauld, Leoncavallo, Longfellow, Picasso, Craft, Khitrovo, Chamisso, Makarenko, Korolenko, Gorbatko, Shepitko, Savchenko, Zhivago, Derevyago, etc.
Declension of surnames ending in -A, causes the greatest difficulties. Here it is necessary to take into account several criteria: origin of the surname, accent and letter after which -A located. Let's try to simplify the picture as much as possible.
Surnames do not lean towards -A, if this letter is preceded by a vowel (most often at or And): Gulia, Moravia, Delacroix, Heredia. This also applies to last names of Georgian origin.
Surnames do not lean towards -AFrench origin with emphasis on the last syllable: Degas, Dumas, Luc, Thomas, Fermat, Petipa and etc.
All other surnames are -A declined in Russian. Bring Lyanka Elena, take from Shatravki Inna, read Petrarch, together with Kurosawa, O Glinka, For Alexandra Mitta.
The situation is similar with the declination of surnames from the final -I: surnames are not declined French origin with emphasis on the last syllable (Zola). All other surnames ending in -I, bow. For example, persuade Ivan Golovnya And Elena Golovnya, write about Beria, movie Georgy Danelia.
Thus, as you may have noticed, you need to know not so many rules in order to correctly pronounce your surname in Russian. We hope that now you will not make mistakes when signing a notebook or filling out documents! But if you still have any doubts, please contact us. Our specialists will always try to help!
Good luck to you and the beautiful, literate, rich Russian language!
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Often, secretaries and clerks, when drawing up protocols, are faced with the manager’s requirement not to decline the surnames being declined. We will tell you in the article which surnames actually do not decline.
From the article you will learn:
What are some misconceptions about the declination of surnames?
Most Russian speakers are completely unaware of the laws of declension of given names and surnames. Despite the fact that there are a large number of reference books and manuals on this topic, the issue of declension of surnames remains complex and controversial.
In many ways, the solution to this issue is hampered by misconceptions regarding the rules of declension of surnames, which are widespread among Russian speakers. Let's look at some of them.
There is a widespread misconception that the declension of a surname depends on its linguistic origin. This leads to the incorrect conclusion that, for example, all Georgian, Polish or Armenian surnames are not declined.
Another misconception is that the declination of a surname depends on the gender of its bearer.
If the surname coincides with a common noun (Volya, Svoboda, Zhuk), then it is not declined.
However, probably the most common misconception is that there are so many rules for declension that there is simply no point in memorizing them.
In order to refute these misconceptions, let's consider the basic rules for changing surnames by case. We have formulated them in the form of step-by-step instructions, with which you can quickly conclude whether the surname changes by case or not.
How to determine whether a surname is declining: step-by-step instructions
A. If the surname ends in -ov, -in, but is foreign (For example, Chaplin or Darwin), then it will change according to cases as a noun of the second declension (for example, table) - Chaplin, Darwin.
B. Women's surnames in -ina (Smorodina, Zhemchuzhina) change depending on how the male version of the same surname changes. If the male version sounds like Smorodin or Zhemchuzhin, then the female surname in the instrumental case will sound like Smorodina or Zhemchuzhina, and if the male version coincides with the female surname - Zhemchuzhina or Smorodina, then the female surname will be declined as a common noun - Zhemchuzhina or Smorodina.
Step #2.
Non-standard surname
The main rule that should be followed is that the type of declension is primarily influenced by what sound - vowel or consonant - the surname ends with. Let us note once again that neither the gender of the bearer nor the origin influences the inclination or indeclinability of a surname.
Step #3.
Groups of indeclinable surnames
All Russian surnames ending in -y, -ikh (Sukhikh, Belykh), as well as surnames that end in vowels e, i, o, u, y, e, yu, are not subject to change by case.
For example, the performance of Loye, Gramigna, Ceausescu, Lykhny, Maigret and Liu.
Note. In everyday speech and in the language of literature, where it is depicted Speaking, sometimes you can find the declination of male surnames into -y or -i. For example, Chernykh's report. Sometimes you can find the declination of Ukrainian surnames to - ko - Chernenka or Shevchenka. The latter option for changing surnames was common in the 19th century, but at present both the first and second options are undesirable.
Step #4.
If the surname ends with a consonant sound (except for cases with -i and -ih), then whether it will be declined or not depends on the gender of its owner.
Men's surnames will be inclined to a consonant sound, but women's surnames will not. It is important to note that the linguistic origin of the surname is not decisive in this case.
If the surname ends in a consonant (except for surnames ending in -y, -i, which were mentioned above), then here - and only here! - the gender of the bearer of the surname matters. All male surnames ending in a consonant are declined - this is the law of Russian grammar. All female surnames ending in a consonant are not declined. In this case, the linguistic origin of the surname does not matter. Male surnames that coincide with common nouns are also declined.
For example, reports by Krug, Shock, Semenyuk, Martirosyan (for male surnames) and reports by Krug, Shock, Semenyuk and Martirosyan (for female surnames).
Note 1. There are male surnames of East Slavic origin that can be inclined in two ways. We are talking about surnames that, when changed, have a fluent vowel - Zhuravl - Zhuravel or Zhuravlem. Most reference books recommend preserving the fluent vowel (Zhuravel) when declining, since from a legal point of view it is important to preserve the integrity of the surname. However, the owner of the surname may insist on the option he has chosen. The main thing in this case is to adhere to the uniformity of changing the surname by case in all legal documents.
Note 2. Last names starting with -th (Shahrai) deserve special mention. Here we are also faced with the possibility of double changing the surname. If the surname is perceived as an adjective, for example, Topchiy, then it changes as Topchego, Topchyu, etc. If the surname is perceived as a noun, it changes as Topchiya, Topchiyu. Such complex cases concern only those surnames in which the consonant “th” is preceded by the vowels “o” or “i”. In all other cases, the surname changes according to the general rules (Shahrayu, Shakhraya, etc.)
Step #5.
If a surname ends in a vowel -я, preceded by another vowel (for example: Shengelaya, Lomaya, Reya, Beria, Danelia), it is declined.
Examples: Inna Shengelaya’s notebook, diploma issued to Nikolai Lomaya, meeting with Anna Reya; crimes of Lavrentiy Beria, meeting with Georgy Danelia.
Step #6.
If a surname ends in the vowel -a, preceded by another vowel (eg: Galois, Maurois, Delacroix, Moravia, Eria, Heredia, Gulia), it is not declined.
Examples: Nikolai Galois’s notebook, diploma given to Irina Eria, meeting with Igor Gulia.
A. French surnames with an emphasis on the last syllable do not decline: the books of Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola and Anna Gavalda, the aphorisms of Jacques Derrida, the goals of Diarra and Drogba.
B. Mostly Finnish surnames ending in -a are unstressed: meeting with Mauno Pekkala (although a number of sources recommend declining them too).
All other surnames (Slavic, Eastern and others; ending in stressed and unstressed -a, -ya) are declined. Contrary to popular belief, surnames that coincide with common nouns are also declined.
Examples: Irina Groza’s notebook, a diploma issued to Nikolai Mukha, a lecture by Elena Kara-Murza, songs by Bulat Okudzhava, roles by Igor Kvasha, films by Akira Kurosawa.
Note. There used to be fluctuations in the declension of Japanese surnames, but reference books note that such surnames have recently been consistently declined.
Why is it important to follow the rules for declension of surnames?
The need to follow the rules for declension of surnames is determined not only by decency, but by the fact that failure to comply with these rules can lead to all sorts of misunderstandings.
For example, consider this situation. You have received a letter signed as follows: “letter from Vasily Groz.” Following the laws of Russian grammar, you will most likely assume that a man's surname, which in the genitive case has the ending -a, will have a zero ending in the nominative case and conclude that the author of the letter is Vasily Groz. Such a misunderstanding would not have arisen if the letter had been signed correctly - “letter from Vasily Groza.”
Another example. You have been given an article by A. Pogrebnyak. It is natural to assume that the author of the article is a woman. If it later turns out that the author is a man, Anatoly Pogrebnyak, this may lead to misunderstanding.
Results
- The declension of any surname is determined by the rules of the modern Russian language.
- The declension of a surname depends on what sound - vowel or consonant - it ends with.
- The rule “men's surnames change according to cases, but women's surnames do not” applies only to surnames ending in a consonant.
- If the surname coincides with a common noun (Nora, Bear or Hare), then this is not an obstacle to its declension.
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