This article is devoted to the declination of surnames, a topic to which Russian language teachers devoted several lessons in primary school.
Ability to correctly incline proper name and the surname is very important - at school the child signs his diary and notebooks, and in adult life important government documents.
Therefore, information about the declension of surnames by case will be useful for both schoolchildren and adults.
General rules for declension of surnames
You need to remember them to avoid mistakes:
- Not all surnames ending in a consonant are inflected for both men and women:
- Women's surnames are not declined at all: script by Irina Kryuk, dress by Anna Mayer;
- male surnames can and should be declined: song by Louis Tomlinson, house of Alexander Pushkin.
- All Russian surnames ending in “a” are declined: speech by Karina Ivanova, story by Vasily Stupka.
- Foreign surnames are declined if they end in a consonant: creativity of Anatoly Petrosyan, poems of George Byron.
Exception: French surnames Dumas, Lacroix and others do not bow down.
Foreign surnames ending in a vowel other than the unstressed “a” are not inflected: music by Giuseppe Verdi, role by Sergo Makaradze.
What surnames are not declined in Russian?
This rule is well illustrated in the picture.
Do male surnames decline or not?
Men's surnames are subject to declension, but not all. You need to figure out what your surname is- Russian, French, Armenian, etc., what letter it ends with, and apply the corresponding rule.
Declension of masculine surnames ending in a consonant
Declension of surnames in Ukrainian
Ukrainian surnames ending in -uk (-yuk), -ok, -ik, -ch are declined only if they are male surnames. As in Russian, female Ukrainian surnames ending in a consonant do not decline.
Exceptions to the rules include surnames ending in -ih, -yh. Usually these are surnames formed from adjectives: White, Black. They don't bow down.
Do Armenian surnames end with –yan?
The declination of Armenian surnames into -an (-yan), -ants (-yanc), -unts occurs according to the rules of the Russian language: men's surnames are declined, women's surnames are not.
Declension of foreign surnames
To remember the declension of foreign names, this algorithm will be useful:
Declension of male surnames ending in a soft sign
There are few male surnames ending in -ь, but you still need to know how they decline.
Exception: surnames derived from city names are not declined. These are surnames from Uruguay, Taiwan, etc.
Declension of masculine surnames ending in a vowel
Surnames ending in a vowel, except -a , don't bow down. This is true for both male and female surnames.
| Them. P. | Peter Romanenko |
| Genus. P. | Petra Romanenko |
| Dat. P. | Petru Romanenco |
| Vin. P. | Petra Romanenko |
| Creation P. | Peter Romanenko |
| Prev. P. | (about) Petre Romanenko |
Declension of double surnames
Declension of double Russian surnames occurs as follows: both parts are declined according to the rules of the Russian language. If the first part serves only as a component, then it does not decline.
| Them. P. | Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko |
| Genus. P. | Ivana Petrova-Zodchenko |
| Dat. P. | Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko |
| Vin. P. | Ivana Petrova-Zodchenko |
| Creation P. | Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko |
| Prev. P. | (about) Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko |
Don’t forget that last names don’t end with –o!
Compound surnames are popular in East Asia. For example, the last name is Kim Il Sung. Comprises three parts, but only the latter is inclined, according to general rules.
Declension of German surnames
For the most part, German surnames were derived from geographical names, personal names, and nicknames.
German male surnames ending in a consonant are definitely declined: give it to Müller, call Schneider, send Wagner, no Schultz, think about Richter.
For a vowel letter, accordingly, no:letter for Adolf Weisse, work by Johann Goethe, documents of Arnold Kolbe.
Is a man's surname ending in "th" inflected?
Male surnames starting with “y” are also declined.
Declension of Georgian surnames to “iya”
Linguists do not recommend inflecting Georgian surnames with the suffixes “iya”, “ia”, “ua”, “aya”. The endings should be written correctly: otherwise it will cease to have anything to do with Georgia. Examples: Goritsavia book, Gamsakhurdia house, Chkadua address.
Remembering the spelling of last names is easy: female surnames are declined ONLY with the ending “a” ( Mokaeva, Ivanova etc.). Male surnames are declined ALL EXCEPT those ending in other vowels ( Plushenko, Begiashvili).
However, if you still have problems with declension, it is better to turn to the Internet or the Directory of Surnames. This will take time, but you will be sure that the data is recorded correctly and will not have to be changed.
The article gives recommendations on the declension of Russian and borrowed surnames, provides the basic rules and exceptions to them. The vast majority of standard Russian surnames with the suffixes –ov/-ev, -in, do not cause problems when used in indirect cases, since they have their own declension paradigm, in which there can be endings of both an adjective and a noun. Compare in the masculine gender: I.p. Pushkin Serov red wolf R.p. Pushkin Serov red wolf D.p. Pushkin Serov's red wolf V.p. Pushkin Serov red wolf etc. Pushkin Gray wolf red P.p. (o) Pushkin (o) Serov (o) wolf (o) red Compare in the feminine gender: I.p. Pushkin Serov's red crow R.p. Pushkina's gray crow red D.p. Pushkin's gray crow red V.p. Pushkin Serov's red crow Etc. Pushkina Serova red crow P.p. (o) Pushkina (o) Serova (o) crow (o) red Note. As can be seen from the declension paradigm, Russian surnames in the masculine gender in the instrumental case have the ending -ym, like an adjective. They should not be confused with foreign surnames ending in -in, which have the ending -om in the instrumental case, like a noun. Compare: with Alexander Pushkin, but with Charles Darwin. It should be taken into account that Russian and borrowed surnames may have the same sound and spelling, for example: Pyotr Chaplin and Charlie Chaplin, which should be taken into account when used in the instrumental case: with Pyotr Chaplin, but with Charlie Chaplin. Next, rules are formulated and recommendations are given for the use of non-standard Russian and borrowed surnames. SURNAME WITH A CONSONANT Declension of foreign and Slavic surnames ending with a consonant (in writing they end with a consonant, soft sign or j), depends on the gender of the person named. If the surname refers to a man, then it is declined as a second declension noun male. Women's surnames of this type are not declined. This rule easily fits into the scheme: Foreign and Slavic surnames with a consonant sound (in writing they end in a consonant, ь or й) For example: I.p. Anna Shmidt Peter Shmidt Roman Zyuz Ivan Gaidai R.p. Anna Schmidt Petra Shmidt Roman Zyuzya Ivan Gaidai D.p. Anna Schmidt Pyotr Schmidt Roman Zyuz Ivan Gaidai V.p Anna Schmidt Pyotr Shmidt Roman Zyuz Ivan Gaidai Etc. Anna Shmidt Peter Shmidt Roman Zyuz Ivan Gaidai P.p. (about) Anna Schmidt (about) Peter Schmidt (about) Roman Zyuz (about) Ivan Gaidai Note
- As can be seen from the diagram, application of the rule requires knowledge of the gender of the person being called. The text or title page of a publication does not always allow a native speaker to convey such information, therefore, in writing and in oral speech, difficulties may arise when using surnames with a consonant. For example, the title page indicates the author A. Shtol, but the annotation does not contain information about the full name. The reader, without having reliable data, cannot correctly formulate his speech: “I read the novels of A. Shtol (female surname) or A. Shtol (male surname).
- “Outlandish” surnames like Greben and Astrakhan, homonymous with common nouns, geographical names, names of animals and insects, often cause difficulties in declension. Surnames of this type can be divided into two groups:
- Let us pay special attention to surnames with a fluent vowel such as Malchinok, Kobets. There is no clear answer in the scientific and reference literature. There are two options:
- It is necessary to distinguish between homonymous Russian (as well as Russified) surnames and those borrowed into -ov and -in. For example: Peter Chaplin / Vera Chaplin and Charlie Chaplin / Helen Chaplin, Ivan Flotov / Marina Flotova and Hans Flotov / Helga Flotov. Such surnames are distinguished by the ending of the instrumental case. Russian surnames (as well as Russified ones) in the instrumental case of the masculine gender have the ending -ym: Peter Chaplin. The “non-Russian” surname in the instrumental case of the masculine gender has the ending -om: Charlie Chaplin. Women's names are not inclined at all: approach Helen Chaplin, meet Helga Flotov. Compare: approach Vera Chaplina, meet Marina Flotova.
- Surnames with a vowel (except -а/-я).
- Surnames starting with the vowel -a.
- Surnames starting with the vowel -ya.
- Surnames starting with a vowel (except -а/-я)
- Surnames starting with the vowel -a
- Surnames with a preceding consonant:
- Surnames with unaccented -a.
- Surnames with accent -a.
- Surnames preceded by a vowel i or u.
- If the final unstressed vowel -a is preceded by a consonant (mainly Slavic and Romanesque surnames), then the surname changes according to the first type of declension (like sister):
- If the final unstressed vowel -a is preceded by a vowel (usually the vowels y or i), then the surname is not declined: Badzagua, Benois, Valois, Galois, Guatua, Gerua, Gulia, Delacroix, Dondua, Dubois, Luria, Matua, Moravia, Morua, Rurua, Sturua, Todua, Huchua, Eria, Heredia.
- Surnames of French origin are not inclined: the novels of Alexandre Dumas, Fermat's theorem, the production of choreographer Petipa, student Anton Koles.
- Slavic surnames and from oriental languages change according to the first type of declension:
- Surnames starting with the vowel -я
- Surnames of French origin with an accent on the end are not declined: the novels of Emile Zola, the ancestors of Henri Troyat.
- All other surnames begin with -ya:
From the questions received by the “Help Bureau” of “Gramota.ru”:
- Hello, my surname is Ossa, emphasis on O, they wrote Ossa in my diploma, and now I have to do an examination, which costs a lot of money, to prove that the surname is not inclined.
- My last name is Pogrebnyak. This is a Ukrainian surname, but they don’t seem to bow down. Some people decline my surname, write Pogrebnyak, Pogrebnyaku, Pogrebnyak. Is it possible?
- My last name is Eroshevich, it is of Polish origin (this is known for sure). I'm interested in this question: is my last name inclined? My (male) relative was given a certificate in which his last name was omitted. And with this certificate they didn’t take him anywhere. They said that the surname does not decline. Teachers also say that it is not inclined, but on your website it says that it is inclined. I'm confused!
Such questions are not uncommon in the Help Desk of our portal. Most often they are asked in May–June and at the very beginning of September. This is connected, of course, with the fact that in the end school year School and university graduates receive certificates and diplomas, and in September children go to school and begin signing notebooks. The certificate and diploma will necessarily indicate who it was issued to (i.e., the surname in dative case), and on the cover of the notebook - whose it is (i.e. the surname in the genitive case). And in cases where the student’s last name does not end in -ov(s), -in (-yn) or - skiy (-tskiy)(i.e., does not belong to the so-called standard), the question almost always arises: is it necessary to decline the surname and, if so, how exactly to decline? It is with this that native speakers turn to linguists for help. And this question is often followed by another: “How to prove that the surname is inclined?” or “How to defend the right to undeclination of a surname?” The question “To decline or not to decline the surname?” often goes beyond the language, causing heated debate and leading to serious conflicts.
Of course, such questions come not only from students, their parents and teachers, they are asked throughout the year, but the peaks of requests to linguists are precisely in May-June and September, due to the aggravation of this problem in schools and universities. This is no coincidence: after all, it was in educational institution Many native speakers have their first meeting with a specialist - a teacher of the Russian language, and the teacher’s demand to change the surname, which in the family has always been considered unchangeable, by case, surprises, irritates and causes resistance. Similar difficulties are experienced by office workers (secretaries, clerks), who are faced with categorical demands from management not to decline names.
The experience of our “Help Bureau” shows that the laws of declension of surnames are really unknown a large number native speakers (and even some philologists), although they are given in many reference books on the Russian language, including widely available ones. Among these manuals are “Handbook of Spelling and Literary Editing” by D. E. Rosenthal, a stylistic dictionary of variants by L. K. Graudina, V. A. Itskovich, L. P. Katlinskaya “ Grammatical correctness Russian speech" (3rd edition - under the title "Dictionary of grammatical variants of the Russian language"), "Dictionary of Russian personal names" by A. V. Superanskaya, research by L. P. Kalakutskaya "Surnames. Names. Middle names. Spelling and their declension" and many other sources. A study of the requests of Internet users and monitoring of the blogosphere allows us to conclude: there are many misconceptions among native speakers regarding the rules of declension of surnames. Here are the main ones: the decisive factor is the linguistic origin of the surname (“Georgian, Armenian, Polish, etc. surnames are not declined”); in all cases, the declension of the surname depends on the gender of the bearer; surnames that coincide with common nouns (Thunderstorm, Beetle, Stick), do not bow. A considerable number of native speakers are convinced that there are so many rules for declension of surnames that it is not possible to remember them.
To show that all these ideas do not correspond to reality, we present the basic rules for declension of surnames. They are taken from the sources listed above and formulated by us in the form of step-by-step instructions, a kind of algorithm with which you can quickly find the answer to the question: “Does the surname decline?”
This is the algorithm.
1. As stated above, 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 Zoe 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 Alexander Minadze.
Note. In colloquial speech and in the language of fiction, reflecting oral speech, the declension is considered acceptable male surnames on - oh, -them (in Chernykh’s script, meeting with Ryzhikh), as well as the declination of surnames of Ukrainian origin to -ko, -enko by declension of nouns female on -a: go to Semashka, visiting Ustimenka. Note that Ukrainian surnames of this type consistently declined in fiction 19th century ( at Shevchenko; Nalivaika's confession; poem dedicated to Rodzianka).
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, Zhuravel, 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 -а, -я, 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, aphorisms by Jacques Derrida, 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, films by Akira Kurosawa.
Note. In the past, fluctuations were observed in the declension of Japanese surnames, but reference books note that recently such surnames have been consistently declined, and in the “Grammar Dictionary of the Russian Language” by A. A. Zaliznyak there is an indeclinable version at Akutagawa, along with the inflexible near Okudzhava, called a “gross violation of the norm” .
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 surname being declined by case can lead to misunderstandings and incidents, disorienting the addressee of the speech. In fact, let’s imagine a 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.” The authors of the “Dictionary of grammatical variants of the Russian language” L.K. Graudina, V.A. Itskovich, L.P. Katlinskaya indicate: “For the inflection of surnames, the law on absolute deducibility by them must be immutable. case of the surname from its indirect cases.”
Therefore, we suggest you remember elementary truth № 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 in consonant. Matching of the surname in form with common nouns (Fly, Hare, Stick etc.) is not an obstacle to their inclination.
Literature:
- Ageenko F. L. Dictionary of proper names of the Russian language. M., 2010.
- Graudina L.K., Itskovich V.A., Katlinskaya L.P. Dictionary of grammatical variants of the Russian language. –3rd ed., erased. M., 2008.
- Zaliznyak A. A. Grammar dictionary of the Russian language. – 5th ed., rev. M., 2008.
- Kalakutskaya L.P. Surnames. Names. Middle names. Spelling and Declension. M., 1994.
- Rosenthal D. E. Handbook of spelling and literary editing. – 8th ed., rev. and additional M., 2003.
- Superanskaya A.V. Dictionary of Russian personal names. M., 2004.
V. M. Pakhomov,
Candidate of Philology,
editor-in-chief of the portal "Gramota.ru"
Often, secretaries and clerks, when drawing up protocols, are faced with the manager’s requirement not to decline certain names. We will tell you in the article which surnames actually do not decline. We have prepared a summary table of the most common cases with which difficulties arise.
Download this useful document:
What are some misconceptions about the declination of surnames?
Most Russian speakers are unfamiliar with the laws of declension of given names and surnames. Despite the fact that there are many reference books and manuals on this topic, the issue of declination of surnames remains difficult for many people. In many ways, misconceptions regarding the rules for declination of surnames interfere. Here are some of them.
The declension of a surname depends on its linguistic origin. For example, all Georgian, Polish or Armenian surnames are not declined.
The declension of a surname depends on the gender of its bearer.
If the surname coincides with a common noun - Volya, Svoboda, Zhuk - it does not decline.
However, 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.
Table: declension of surnames in Russian
Download the table in full
How to determine whether a surname is declining: step-by-step instructions
Step #1.
Look at the end of the last name. If it ends in -ov (-ev,), -in (-yn), -sky (-tsky), decline it as standard
Such surnames can be changed without problems. But keep in mind two important exceptions.
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. An example is in the table below.
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina (born Smorodin) |
Irina Zhemchuzhina (same as born) |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
Step #2.
If you have a non-standard surname, mark what sound it ends with
The main rule that should be followed is that the type of declension is primarily influenced not by the gender or nationality of the speaker, but by whether it ends with a vowel or consonant.
Step #3.
Do not change your last name, which ends in -yh, ikh, as well as e, i, o, u, y, e, yu
For example, the book by Belykh, the speech 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 declension of Ukrainian surnames in -ko - Chernenka or Shevchenko. The last version of surname changes was common in the 19th century. But now both the first option and the second are undesirable.
Step #4.
If the surname ends with a consonant (except -i and -yh), look at the gender of its owner
Men's surnames are inclined to a consonant, but women's names are not. 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, Martirosyan (for male surnames) and reports by Krug, Shock, 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.)
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Anna Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Annu Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Anne Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Annu Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Anna Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
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Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Anne Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
Step #5.
The surname ends in the vowel -ya. Is there another vowel before it? If yes, persuade her
Examples: Inna Shengelaya’s notebook, diploma issued to Nikolai Lomaya, meeting with Anna Reya; crimes of Lavrentiy Beria, meeting with Georgy Danelia.
Step #6.
The surname ends in the vowel -a. Is there another vowel before it? If yes, don't persuade her
Examples: Nikolai Galois’s notebook, diploma given to Irina Eria, meeting with Igor Gulia.
Step #7.
The surname ends in -a or -ya, but is preceded by a consonant. Pay attention to the origin of the surname and the emphasis in it
There are only two exceptions to remember:
A. French surnames with an emphasis on the last syllable are not inclined: the books of Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola and Anna Gavalda, the aphorisms of Jacques Derrida, the goals of Drogba.
B. Mostly Finnish surnames ending in -a are unstressed: meeting with Mauno Pekkala.
All other surnames - Eastern, Slavic, Japanese - ending in stressed and unstressed -a or -ya are declined. Decline also surnames that coincide with common nouns.
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.
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Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Groza |
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Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Groza |
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Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Grose |
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Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Groza |
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Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Groza |
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Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Grose |
Why is it important to follow the rules for declension of surnames?
You risk encountering misunderstandings if you do not follow the rules for declining surnames.
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.
Since school, many have learned the rule that when pronouncing and writing, women's surnames are not declined by case, but men's surnames are not declined, on the contrary, like similar adjectives or nouns. Is everything so simple, and are foreign male surnames inclined in Russian? This is the subject of this article, based on the monograph by L.P. Kalakutskaya, published in 1984.
Importance of the problem
There are many situations in which the correct spelling and correct pronunciation of surnames in different cases is very important:
- The child has started school and needs to sign his notebook or diary correctly.
- A young man or an adult man is awarded a diploma or letter of gratitude.
- At a serious event, the appearance or performance of a man with a complex surname is announced. It will be unpleasant if it is distorted.
- When preparing important documents (certificate, diploma) or preparing case materials to establish family ties (in court, at a notary).
- Knowing whether male surnames are inclined is necessary for people of many professions who deal with the preparation of personal files or other business papers.
Russian surnames
The most common surnames in Russia - with suffixes - sk (-tsk), ov (-ev), in (-yn): Razumovsky, Slutsky, Ivanov, Turgenev, Mukhin, Sinitsyn. All of them are easily declined, like ordinary adjectives, in both the feminine and masculine gender. Exception - surnames on -ov, -in, the ending of which in the prepositional case is somewhat different from the traditional one.
Foreign surnames with suffix -in (-yn) also have a discrepancy with Russians in the instrumental case. Let's look at an example:
Do male surnames tend to th without suffix - sk, which are also found in Russia (Tolstoy, Berezhnoy, Sukhoi)? Not numerous (there is a complete list of them in scientific works on philology), they are easily changed by case, similar to adjectives with a similar ending.
Ukrainian surnames
The most famous Ukrainian surnames are on -enko And -ko: Bondarenko, Luchko, Molodyko. If you look at Russian literature, then in works of art (A.P. Chekhov, for example), writers are quite free with their writing in the masculine version and in the plural: “Let’s go to visit the Bondarenki.”
This is incorrect, because the official spelling is different from works of art and colloquial speech. The answer to the question whether Ukrainian male surnames tend to be - enko And -ko, unequivocal - no. Example:
- I am writing a letter to Oleg Bondarenko.
- She has an affair with Ivan Luchko.
Moreover, this applies to all surnames of Ukrainian origin, even such rare ones as Alekhno, Rushailo, Mylo, Tolokno. Surnames are never inclined to -ago, -ovo, -yago: Vodolago, Durnovo, Dubyago. What about those that end in consonants?
Surnames starting with the consonant -k
Historically, suffixes -uk (-yuk) indicated either a related or semantic affiliation: Ivan’s son is Ivanchuk, the cooper’s assistant is Bondarchuk. To a greater extent, they are characteristic of the western part of Ukraine, but are widespread among all Slavic peoples. Do men's surnames tend to - uk?
According to the laws of the Russian language, female surnames do not change according to cases, but male surnames ending in a consonant (the exception is the ending -them, -s), bow without fail:
- I wrote a letter to Olga Dimitryuk.
- I was invited to visit Igor Shevchuk.
- I recently saw Sergei Ignatyuk.
All surnames expressed by nouns are also subject to change by case: Mole, Wolf, Wind, Pillar. There is one subtlety here: if the surname is Slavic, then the existing fluent vowel in the root is not always preserved. In jurisdictions, it is important to spell it out, although many sources do not consider pronunciation without it to be incorrect. As an example, consider the surname Hare. More often it is said: “She called Ivan Zayets.” This is acceptable, but more correct: “She called Ivan Zayats.”
Common in Ukraine and surnames in -ok, -hic: Pochinok, Gorelik. Knowing the rule that all male surnames with a consonant at the end change according to cases, it is easy to answer the question: do male surnames decline to -To:
- She came to the house of Ilya Pochinok (here the fluent vowel disappears).
- He knew Larisa Petrik well.
Exception to the rule
The Slavs often have family endings in -their(s): Chernykh, Ilyinsky. In the first half of the 20th century, men's surnames with similar endings were often changed by case. According to the norms of the Russian language today, this is incorrect.
The origin of these surnames is from the adjective plural requires preserving their individuality:
- He greeted Peter Bela X.
Although there is a consonant at the end, this is an exception to the rule that you need to be aware of when answering the question of whether male surnames are declined.
It is quite common to end with -h: Stojkovic, Rabinovich, Gorbach. The general rule applies here:
- Waiting for Semyon Rabinovich to visit.
- He really liked Anna Porkhach's exhibition.
Armenian surnames
Armenia is a small country with a population of barely more than 3 million people. But about 8.5 million members of the diaspora live in other countries, so they are widespread. They can often be identified by the traditional ending - an(-yang): Avdzhan, Dzhigarkhanyan. In ancient times there was a more archaic family form: -ants (-yantz), -untz, which is still common in the south of Armenia: Kurants, Sarkisyants, Tonunts. Does an Armenian male surname decline?
It is subject to the rules of the Russian language, which have already been discussed in the article. Male surnames with a consonant at the end are subject to case declension:
- together with Armen Avjan ( wherein "together with Anush Avjan");
- watched a film with the participation of Georg Tonunts ( wherein "film with Lili Tonunts").
Ending with vowels
Male surnames remain unchanged if they, regardless of origin and affiliation with a particular country, end in the following vowels: i, s, u, yu, e, e. Example: Gandhi, Dzhusoity, Shoigu, Camus, Maigret, Manet. In this case, it does not matter at all whether the stress falls on the first or last syllable. These include Moldavian, Indian, French, Georgian, Italian and Example: “ Recently he read poems by Shota Rustaveli" But do men's surnames tend to - and I)?
Both options occur here, so it is better to present them in a table:
| Leaning | Don't bow | |
| Letters -and I) not under stress | The last letters follow the consonants: Pie Ha, Kaf ka.
| If the last letters follow a vowel - And: Pestilence ia, Gars and I.
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| Letters -and I) are under stress | The last letters follow the consonants, but have Slavic roots: Loza, Mitta.
| The last letters follow consonants or vowels and are of French origin: Dumas, Benoit, Delacroix, Zola.
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To consolidate knowledge of whether male surnames tend to - A, we offer you an algorithm that can always be at hand.
German surnames
The origin of Germanic surnames is similar to their history in other states: most are derived from personal names, place names, nicknames or occupations of their bearers.
Since German surnames change according to cases, they should be distinguished from Slavic ones. In addition to the common ones, such as Müller, Hoffman, Wittgenstein, Wolf, there are those ending in -their: Dietrich, Freundlich, Ulrich. In Russian surnames before -their There are rarely soft consonants with hard pairs. This is explained by the fact that adjectives with similar stems are almost never found in the language. Slavic surnames, unlike German ones, are not declined (Pyatykh, Borovsky).
If the end is -ь or -й
The rule by which male surnames that have consonants without an ending as their basis are declined also applies to those cases when they are put at the end -ь or th. They change by case as nouns belonging to the second declension. However, in the instrumental case they have a special ending - om (eat). They are perceived as foreign. To answer the question whether male surnames tend to -ь And th, an example should be considered:
- Nominative (who?): Vrubel, Gaidai;
- Genitive (whom?): Vrubel, Gaidai;
- Dative (to whom?): Vrubel, Gaidai;
- Accusative (of whom?): Vrubel, Gaidai;
- Creative (by whom?): Vrubel, Gaidai;
- Prepositional (about whom?): about Vrubel, about Gaidai.
There are exceptions to the rule. Thus, discordant surnames (Pelmen), as well as those coinciding with geographical name(Uruguay, Taiwan). Even if it comes after a hissing word (Night, Mouse), the surname is inclined to be masculine.
Double and compound surnames
China, Vietnam and Korea are distinguished by the fact that their residents have compound surnames made up of several words. If they end in a consonant, then they are declined according to the general rules, but only their last part. Example:
- We listened to Kim Jong Il's speech.
Russian double surnames are declined in both parts according to general rules:
- painting by Petrov-Vodkin;
- Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater.
If the first part is not a surname, but serves as a component, it does not change by case:
- Ter-Ovanesyan's jump;
- work by Demut-Malinovsky.
Whether male surnames of other foreign countries are declined depends entirely on the rules of Russian grammar discussed in the article. The question of using the plural or singular when listing two persons remained unclear.
Singular and plural
In what cases is the plural used, and in what cases? singular, best seen from the table:
Men's surnames, unlike women's, are declined, but there are many cases discussed in the article when they also cannot be changed. The main criteria are the ending of the word and the country of origin of the surname.