Thread: Frustrated with Russian cases...

Падежи - формальная вещь: определённый предлог или глагол требуют определённого падежа. Виды глаголов гораздо труднее для понимания и часто требуют индивидуального подхода.

Has anyone used this book? Would you recommend it for Nichole's particular difficulties? I used the version for Latin students years ago and it was a boon.

Amazon.com: English Grammar for Students of Russian: The Study Guide for Those Learning Russian (English grammar series) (9780934034210): Edwina Jannie Cruise: Books#_

The cases aren't too daunting, in my opinion - of course, you get frustrated every once in a while when you're first learning them, it feels impossible, you get fed up. It's all very natural.

But eventually, they'll start clicking. Trust me. And it does require some knowledge of basic grammatical concepts to begin with ... and if you don't have a basic understanding of grammar to begin with, by the time you learn cases you'll have a firm conceptual grasp of grammar.

Don't get disheartened! Don't give up. There is nothing unlearnable.

What I find helped me make leaps and bounds with cases - and it's not too hard - is going through texts (whether you understand them or not makes ABSOLUTELY no difference) and just highlight, word for word, the case endings, and determine what they are and what relation they bear to the words around them. After doing this a few times you'll begin to recognize certain case endings automatically, until finally, voila, you'll have a good grasp of the cases, and you'll maybe have learned something else about Russian in the process.

Originally Posted by oileanach

Has anyone used this book? Would you recommend it for Nichole's particular difficulties? I used the version for Latin students years ago and it was a boon.

Amazon.com: English Grammar for Students of Russian: The Study Guide for Those Learning Russian (English grammar series) (9780934034210): Edwina Jannie Cruise: Books#_

I was assigned this book, oileanach, when I took a semester of Russian at college. I didn't need it, but I would indeed recommend it if the person is starting with little or no working knowledge of basic grammatical concepts, such as direct objects, indirect objects, possessives, verbs, transitive vs. intransitive. For me, the book was a cakewalk, but I can see its particular value for people with no previous exposure to these necessary concepts.