Russian Grammar

Ordered by how often each structure actually turns up in real spoken Russian — most-used first, so you learn what pays off in the most sentences. The CEFR level is kept as a small tag on each topic.

In every sentence

You can't speak without these — learn them first. • 7 topics

Personal Pronouns (Местоимения)

я, ты, он, она, мы, вы, они, and their case forms (меня, мне, тебя, тебе). ты or вы decides how polite you are.

📊 About 18 of every 100 words people say are pronouns (я, ты, это, он).

The Six Cases (Падежи)

Why кошка becomes кошку, кошки, кошке: the ending of a noun shows its job in the sentence. Nominative, accusative and genitive carry most of speech.

📊 49% of nouns and pronouns people say are NOT in the dictionary (nominative) form. Cases: nominative 51%, accusative 18%, genitive 13%, dative 6.7%, prepositional 5.5%, instrumental 5.0%.

Present Tense (Настоящее время)

The two sets of endings for the present: читаю, читаешь (first group) and говорю, говоришь (second group). Russian has no "am doing" form.

📊 45% of verbs in statements and questions are present tense.

Past Tense (Прошедшее время)

The easiest Russian tense: -л, -ла, -ло, -ли, by gender and number, never by person (я был, она была).

📊 41% of verbs in statements and questions are past tense. One set of endings (-л, -ла, -ло, -ли) for every person.

Verb Aspect (Вид глагола)

Most Russian verbs come in pairs: делать (doing, again and again) and сделать (done, one time). The pair decides your tenses.

📊 Every Russian verb is one of two aspects: 42% of verb uses are perfective (one finished action), 58% imperfective.

Negation (не, нет, ни)

не before the word you deny, нет + genitive for "there is no", and the double negative никто не, ничего не.

📊 не alone is 2.9 of every 100 words people say, the second most common word.

Prepositions and Case (Предлоги)

в, на, с, у, к, о, по, за: each preposition sets the case of the noun after it (в школе, в школу).

📊 About 8 of every 100 words are prepositions (в, на, с, у), and each one sets the case of the next noun.

Every conversation

You'll reach for these many times a day. • 8 topics

Noun Gender (Род)

Masculine, feminine or neuter, and you can usually tell from the last letter: стол, мама, окно.

📊 Nouns people say: 48% masculine, 35% feminine, 18% neuter.

Questions (Вопросы)

Question words (что, кто, где, когда, почему, как) and yes/no questions made only by the rise of your voice.

📊 18% of spoken lines are questions.

#10

Can, Want, Must (мочь, хотеть, надо, нужно)

мочь and хотеть conjugate; надо, нужно, можно, нельзя do not and take the person in the dative (мне надо).

📊 мочь, хотеть, надо, нужно, должен, можно and нельзя together are 2.1 of every 100 words.

#11

Imperative (Повелительное наклонение)

Commands and requests: смотри / смотрите, подожди, давай + verb for "let's".

📊 7.3% of all verb uses are commands or requests (смотри, давай, подожди).

#12

Possessives and "I Have" (Мой, у меня есть)

мой, твой, наш, ваш, свой, and how Russian says "I have": у меня есть.

📊 мой, твой, наш, ваш and свой are 1.5 of every 100 words.

#13

Future Tense (Будущее время)

Two futures: a perfective verb with present endings (сделаю = I will do it), or буду + an imperfective verb (буду делать = I will be doing).

📊 14% of verbs in statements and questions are future. 79% of them are a perfective verb (сделаю, скажу), the rest are forms of буду (буду дома, будет делать).

#14

Adjective Endings (Прилагательные)

An adjective takes the gender, number and case of its noun: новый дом, новая машина, в новом доме.

📊 About 6 of every 100 words are adjectives, and each one changes its ending to match its noun.

#15

Verbs in -ся (Возвратные глаголы)

нравиться, казаться, случиться: -ся turns many verbs to "oneself" or "each other", and some verbs only exist with it.

📊 13% of verb uses end in -ся/-сь (нравится, кажется, случилось).

Often

Regular, but not in every sentence. • 7 topics

#16

Plural Nouns (Множественное число)

The plural endings -ы, -и, -а, -я, and the common irregular plurals (люди, дети, друзья).

📊 21% of nouns people say are plural.

#17

Verbs of Motion (Глаголы движения)

идти or ходить, ехать or ездить: one direction now, or there and back and often. Prefixes add the direction (прийти, уйти, выйти).

📊 8.3% of verb uses are verbs of going and carrying (идти, пойти, ехать, прийти, нести).

#18

This and That (этот, тот, такой)

этот (this), тот (that), такой (such), and the all-purpose это (this is / it is).

📊 этот, тот and такой are 0.8 of every 100 words.

#19

Conditional with бы (Сослагательное наклонение)

Past tense + бы for wishes, polite requests and "if" talk: я бы хотел, если бы я знал.

📊 бы comes with about 2.0 of every 100 verbs (я бы хотел, если бы).

#20

Numbers (Числительные)

Counting, and the case a number gives its noun: один час, два часа, пять часов.

📊 Numbers are 0.7 of every 100 words.

#21

Adverbs (Наречия)

хорошо, быстро, здесь, сейчас, уже, ещё: the words that never change their form.

Usage: common

#22

Comparatives (Сравнительная степень)

больше, лучше, быстрее, and the superlative самый.

📊 Comparative forms (больше, лучше, быстрее) are 0.5 of every 100 words.

Now and then

Situational — comes up as you go deeper. • 4 topics

#23

Relative Clauses with который

который (who / which / that) takes the gender of its noun and the case of its own clause.

📊 который is 0.26 of every 100 words.

#24

Connectors (потому что, поэтому, хотя)

The words that link ideas: потому что, поэтому, хотя, зато, значит, кстати.

📊 потому, поэтому, хотя, значит, кстати and similar words are 0.27 of every 100 words.

#25

Word Order (Порядок слов)

Why Russian word order is free, and how the new information goes to the end of the sentence.

Usage: situational

#26

Participles (Причастия)

Short participles in speech (закрыто, сделано) and the long ones you mostly read (говорящий, сделанный).

📊 3.2% of verb uses are participles (сделано, закрыт, убит).

Rare & literary

Polish and written forms — uncommon in everyday speech. • 2 topics

#27

Passive Voice (Страдательный залог)

было сделано, строится: and why speech prefers an active verb without a subject (здесь не курят).

📊 2.4% of verb uses are passive.

#28

Verbal Adverbs (Деепричастия)

делая, сделав: "while doing" and "having done". Mostly in writing.

📊 Only 0.9% of verb uses are verbal adverbs (делая, сделав).