Pronoun Case Forms in Russian

Overview

Personal pronouns in Russian decline through all six cases, creating a full paradigm that must be memorized. At the A2 level, knowing pronoun case forms is essential because pronouns appear in virtually every sentence -- as direct objects, indirect objects, after prepositions, and in possessive constructions.

Unlike nouns, where case endings follow somewhat predictable patterns, pronoun forms are often irregular and must be learned individually. The good news is that there are only seven pronouns to master (я, ты, он, она, оно, мы, вы, они), and they are so high-frequency that they become automatic with practice.

A distinctive feature of Russian pronoun declension is the н- prefix that appears on third-person pronouns after prepositions: его becomes него after prepositions (у него, к нему), её becomes неё (у неё), and их becomes них (у них). This prefix is required and its omission is a clear grammatical error.

How It Works

Full Pronoun Declension Table

Case	я	ты	он/оно	она	мы	вы	они
Nom	я	ты	он/оно	она	мы	вы	они
Gen	меня	тебя	его (него)	её (неё)	нас	вас	их (них)
Dat	мне	тебе	ему (нему)	ей (ней)	нам	вам	им (ним)
Acc	меня	тебя	его (него)	её (неё)	нас	вас	их (них)
Inst	мной	тобой	им (ним)	ей (ней)	нами	вами	ими (ними)
Prep	мне	тебе	нём	ней	нас	вас	них

Forms in parentheses are used after prepositions.

The Н- Prefix Rule

After any preposition, third-person pronouns add н-:

• у него (at him), к нему (toward him), с ним (with him)
• у неё (at her), к ней (toward her), с ней (with her)
• у них (at them), к ним (toward them), с ними (with them)

Exception: No н- after possessive его/её/их: его книга (his book), not него книга.

Examples in Context

Russian	English	Note
Я вижу его. / Я говорю с ним.	I see him. / I'm talking with him.	Acc vs. Inst
Это для тебя.	This is for you.	Gen after для
Я иду к ней.	I'm going to her.	Dat with preposition + н-
У нас нет времени.	We don't have time.	Gen after у
Они думают обо мне.	They think about me.	Prep
Позвони мне.	Call me.	Dative
Я пойду с тобой.	I'll go with you.	Instrumental
Расскажи нам.	Tell us.	Dative
Без них мы не начнём.	Without them we won't start.	Gen with н-
Мы ждём вас.	We are waiting for you.	Accusative

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the н- prefix after prepositions

• Wrong: У его есть машина.
• Right: У него есть машина.
• Why: Third-person pronouns must add н- after all prepositions.

Adding н- to possessive pronouns

• Wrong: Него книга (intending "his book")
• Right: Его книга.
• Why: The н- prefix applies only when the pronoun is used after a preposition, not when it functions as a possessive.

Confusing мне (dative/prepositional) and меня (genitive/accusative)

• Wrong: Он видит мне. (dative instead of accusative)
• Right: Он видит меня. (accusative for direct object)
• Why: Different grammatical functions require different cases. Direct objects take accusative (меня), indirect objects take dative (мне).

Practice Tips

• Write out the full pronoun table from memory once a day until you can do it without hesitation.
• Practice using pronouns after different prepositions: у меня, для тебя, с ним, к ней, о нас, без них.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Personal Pronouns (Nominative) -- start with nominative forms before learning oblique cases