Declension rule for geographical names. Slavic names ending in

Memo: how to incline geographical names August 26th, 2006

WHICH IS CORRECT: IN OSTANKINO OR IN OSTANKINO, IN MOSCOW OR IN THE CITY OF MOSCOW? HOW TO CLOSE GEOGRAPHIC NAMES?

A geographical name used with the generic names city, village, station, settlement, river, etc., acting as an appendix, is consistent with the word being defined, that is, it declines if the toponym is of Russian, Slavic origin or is a long-borrowed and adopted name:
That's right: in Nizhny Novgorod, in Moscow, in St. Petersburg, in Vladivostok.
Geographical names are usually not declined in cases where the external form of the name corresponds to the plural form. numbers: in the city of Velikiye Luki, when the gender of the generalizing common noun and toponym do not coincide: from the island of Jura, near the village of Mironushka, in the village of Vsevolod-Vilva. The last remark, however, does not apply to combinations with the word city, therefore it is correct: in the city of Tula, from the city of Moscow.
Applications-toponyms of the neuter gender ending in -o, -e (except for words ending in -ovo, -evo, -ino, -yno, which will be discussed below) show a tendency towards indeclinability: between the villages of Molodechno and Dorozhno, from the city of Vidnoye. The indeclinability of the toponym in last example is also explained by the fact that for a person who does not know the true name of the city, when the toponym is declension (in the city of Vidnoye), it will be difficult to restore the original form (when restoring, you can think that it is both Vidny and Vidnoye).
Correct: in Vidnoye, from Vidnoye, but: in the city of Vidnoye, from the city of Vidnoye; in Velikiye Luki, but: in the city of Velikiye Luki.

In Peredelkino or in Peredelkino? Pushkin or Pushkin?

Toponyms of Slavic origin in -ov(o), -ev(o), -in(o), -yn(o) are traditionally inclined: in Ostankino, in Peredelkino, to Strogin, in Novokosin, from Lublin. However, in recent decades there has been a tendency to use the indeclinable option. Initially, indeclinable forms were used only in the speech of geographers and military men, because it was very important to give names in the original form so that there was no confusion: Kirov and Kirovo, Pushkin and Pushkino, etc. But gradually from oral speech indeclinable forms have penetrated into written speech and have become so widespread that the originally only correct indeclinable version is now perceived by many as erroneous! Note also that over the past decades there has been a steady tendency not to change the original form of the name settlements, if they are used as an appendix, together with the generic name.
So, in modern Russian literary language the following rules apply. If there is a generic word (city, district, village, etc.), then it is correct not to incline: from the Lyublino region, towards the Strogino region. If there is no generic word, then both options are correct, inflected and indeclinable: in Lyublino and in Lublin, towards Strogino and towards Strogin.
Correct: in the city of Pushkino, in the city of Ivanovo, in the Perovo region, but (without a generic word): in Pushkino and in Pushkin, in Kosovo and in Kosovo.

Geographical names in -ov (-ev), -ovo (-evo), -in, -ino (-yno) have the ending -om in the instrumental case, for example: Lvov - Lvovom, Kanev - Kanev, Kryukovo - Kryukov, Kamyshin - Kamyshin, Maryino - Maryin, Golitsino - Golitsyn.
Unlike the names of cities, Russian surnames with -in (-yn) and -ov (-ev) have the ending -ym in the instrumental case, cf.: Pushkin (surname) - Pushkin and Pushkin (city) - Pushkin; Alexandrov (surname) - Alexandrov and Alexandrov (city) - Alexandrov.

In Kamen-Kashirskoye, in the city of Kamen-Kashirskoye?

If a compound toponym is a Russian or long-acquired name, in indirect case forms its first part should be declined: from Kamnya-Kashirsky, in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, in Mogilev-Podolsky, in Rostov-on-Don. The same in combination with a generic term: in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
All place names in which the first part of the name has a morphological feature of the neuter gender are covered by a tendency towards immutability: from Likino-Duleva, in Losino-Ostrovsky, in Sobolevo-on-Kamchatka.
Correct: in Kamne-Kashirsky, from Pereslavl-Zalessky, in the city of Mogilev-Podolsky, but: in Likino-Dulevo, near the city of Sobolevo-on-Kamchatka.

In the Republic of Germany, in the Czech Republic?

The official names of republics agree with the word republic if they have a feminine form ending in -iya and -ee: Government of the Republic of Korea, in the Republic of Switzerland. The exception is the inflexible name Germany in combination with the word republic: in the Federal Republic of Germany (see http://www.gramota.ru/docs.html?id=85)

The names of the republics do not agree if they have the form male or a feminine form ending in -a and without an ending: in the Republic of Lebanon, in the Republic of Sakha, in the Republic of Cuba.
Correct: with the Republic of Belarus, from the Czech Republic, but: in the Federal Republic of Germany.

In the city of Washington or in the city of Washington?

Foreign names ending in a consonant are usually not declined in application function:
in the city of Washington, in the city of Louisville, in the city of Maubeuge, in the city of Niamet, in the province of Zyadin, near the city of Manston.

In Osaka or in Osaka?

The following types of foreign language geographical names are distinguished: in -a; -o and -e; on -i, -s; to a consonant.

1. Some acquired names tend to start with -a: Bukhara, Chita, Ankara. Polysyllabic geographical names of Italian and Spanish origin are not declined: in Santiago de Cuba, from Pola de Lena, from Santiago de Compostela; French place names with a finite ending are not declined: Gras, Spa, Le Dora. Names with a final ending are declined: in Toulouse, Geneva, Lausanne; show a tendency to be inflexible Japanese names na -a: in Osaka. Finnish and Estonian geographical names are also not inclined: Sirgala, Iotusa, Kunda. Abkhazian and Georgian names usually don't bow. But the names of the resorts: in Pitsunda, in Gagari, from Gadout.
2. Place names in -о and -е are not declined in the Russian literary language: in Oslo, Tokyo, Bordeaux, Mexico City, Santiago Calais, Grodno, Vilno, Kovno.
3. Toponyms with -s have a greater tendency towards inclination: in Katowice, Thebes, Tatras, Cannes, Cheboksary. Usually names are not inclined to -i: from Chile, Tbilisi, Nagasaki, Sukhumi.
4. Place names with a consonant are usually declined, provided that the name is not used in the application function: in the city of Mantasas, 70 kilometers from Mantasas. Latin American names in -os depart from this group: in Fuentos. Complex names like Père Lachaise, Mine Mill, Puerto Montt are not inclined. Compound names with the second part - street, - square, - park, - palace are not inclined: along Alvin Street, in Union Square, in the Friedrich Stadt Palace hall, in Enmore Park.

In Frankfurt am Main or in Frankfurt am Main?

The first part of complex foreign-language place names, as a rule, is not declined: in Alma-Ata, near Buenos Aires, from Yoshkar-Ola. The exception is the first part in the construction “place name on the river”: in Frankfurt am Main, to Schwedt an der Oder, from Stratford upon Avon.
If any foreign language compound name is used in the application function with common nouns such as city, town, capital, port, etc., it is left unchanged in the second part: in the city of Santa Cruz, in the Bolivian capital of La Paz.

(c) http://spravka.gramota.ru/blang.html?id=167

In the city of Moscow or in the city of Moscow? Names in combination with a generic word A geographical name used with generic names city, village, hamlet, hamlet, river, etc., acting as an application, is consistent with the word being defined, that is, it is inclined if the toponym is of Russian, Slavic origin or represents a long time ago borrowed and adopted name.

That's right: in the city of Moscow, in the city of St. Petersburg, from the city of Kyiv; to the village of Ivanovka, from the village of Olkhovka, in the village of Shushenskoye, near the Mikhailovsky farmstead; near the Volga River, valley of the Sukhoi stream. Both parts in the name Moskva River are declined: Moskva River, on the Moscow River, etc. In colloquial speech, there are cases of indeclinability of the first part: beyond the Moscow River, on the Moscow River, etc. But this use does not correspond literary norm.

Geographical names in combination with a generic word are usually not declined in the following cases: 1. when the external form of the name corresponds to the plural form. dates: in the city of Velikiye Luki, in the city of Mytishchi; 2. when the gender of the generalizing common noun and toponym do not coincide: on the Yenisei River, near the Khoper River, in the village of Parfenok (however, this remark does not apply to combinations with the word city, therefore it is correct: in the city of Tula, from the city of Moscow; about the appropriateness of use here the word city itself, see below).

In addition, there is a tendency towards indeclinability of neuter place name applications ending in -e, -o: between the villages of Molodechno and Dorozhno, not far from the village of Mironezhye, in the city of Vidnoye. In Moscow or in the city of Moscow? The abbreviation g. (city), like the full word, is recommended to be used sparingly, mainly before the names of cities derived from surnames (city of Kirov)." Thus, commonly used: in Moscow. Options in Moscow, in the city of Moscow, should be characterized as specifically clerical (i.e., used primarily in official business speech).

In Peredelkino or in Peredelkino? Toponyms of Slavic origin ending in -ovo, -evo, -ino, -yno are not declined in combination with a generic word: from the Lyublino region, towards the Strogino region, to the Mitino region, in the city of Ivanovo, from the village of Prostokvashino, to the edge of Kosovo . If there is no generic word, then both options are possible, inflected and indeclinable: in Lublin and in Lyublino, towards Strogin and towards Strogino, in Ivanovo and in Ivanovo, from Prostokvashino and from Prostokvashino, to Kosovo and to Kosovo, to Mitin and to Mitino, 8th microdistrict of Mitino and 8th microdistrict of Mitino.

Pushkin or Pushkin? Geographical names in -ov (-ev), -ovo (-evo), -ino (-yno) have the ending -om in the instrumental case, for example: Lvov - Lvovom, Kanev - Kanev, Kryukovo - Kryukov, Kamyshin - Kamyshin, Maryino - Maryin, Golitsino - Golitsyn. Unlike the names of cities, Russian surnames with -in (-yn) and -ov (-ev) have the ending -ym in the instrumental case, cf. : Pushkin (surname) - Pushkin and Pushkin (city) - Pushkin; Alexandrov (surname) - Alexandrov and Alexandrov (city) - Alexandrov.

In Kamen-Kashirskoye or in Kamen-Kashirskoye? If a compound toponym is a Russian or long-acquired name, in indirect case forms its first part should be declined: from Kamen-Kashirsky, in Pereslavl-Zalessky, in Mogilev-Podolsky, in Rostov-on-Don, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. The same in combination with a generic term: in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in the city of Rostov-on-Don. All place names in which the first part of the name has a morphological feature of the neuter gender are covered by a tendency towards immutability: from Likino-Duleva, in Sobolevo-on-Kamchatka.

Names ending in - and many borrowed geographical names mastered by the Russian language are declined according to the type of noun. wives gender in -a, for example: Bukhara - in Bukhara, Ankara - to Ankara; Toponyms of French origin that end in -a in the source language do not decline: Gras, Spa, Le Dora, Jura, etc. However, names to which the ending -a was added in Russian do decline: Toulouse, Geneva, Lausanne - in Toulouse, Geneva, Lausanne (cf.: Toulouse, Genève, Lausanne);

Japanese place names ending in unstressed -a are declined: Osaka - in Osaka, Fukushima - from Fukushima; Estonian and Finnish names are not inclined: from Jyväskylä, to Saaremaa; Abkhazian and Georgian toponyms ending in unstressed -a experience fluctuations in declination. Nevertheless, many of these names are inclined: Ochamchira - in Ochamchira, Gudauta - before Gudauta, Pitsunda - from Pitsunda;

complex geographical names are not inclined to - but unstressed, borrowed from Spanish and other Romance languages: in Bahia Blanca, in Bahia Laypa, from Jerez de la Frontera, in Santiago de Cuba, from Pola de Lena , from Santiago de Compostela; complex Slavic names that are nouns in the presence of word-formation features of adjectives are declined, for example: Biała Podlaska - from Biała Podlaska, Banska Bystrica - to Banska Bystrica

Names ending in -о and -е Such names are not declined in the Russian literary language: in Oslo, Tokyo, Bordeaux, Mexico City, Santiago, Calais, Grodno, Vilno, Kovno. Place names ending in -i, -y Place names ending in -y have a greater tendency to inclination: in Katowice, Thebes, Tatras, Cannes, Cheboksary. Usually names are not inclined to -i: from Chile, Tbilisi, Nagasaki.

Names ending in a consonant Foreign names ending in a consonant are usually not declined in the application function: in the city of Louisville, in the city of Maubeuge, in the city of Niamet, in the province of Ziadin, near the city of Manston. (The exception is names that have long been borrowed and mastered by the Russian language: in the city of Washington.) If such names are not used in the application function, they tend to be inclined: in the city of Mantasas, but 70 kilometers from Mantasas, near the city of Manston, but near Manston.

The Latin American names on - os: in Fuentos depart from this group. Complex names like Père Lachaise, Mine Mill, Puerto Montt are not inclined. Compound names with the second part - street, - square, - park, - palace are not inclined: along Alvin Street, in Union Square, in the Friedrich Stadt Palace hall, in Enmore Park.

In Frankfurt am Main or in Frankfurt am Main? The first part of complex foreign-language place names, as a rule, is not declined: in Alma-Ata, near Buenos Aires, from Yoshkar-Ola. The exception is the first part in the construction “place name on the river”: in Frankfurt am Main, to Schwedt an der Oder, from Stratford upon Avon.

Toponyms are divided according to inflection into four groups of combinations: Combinations with a toponym in an indeclinable form: Republic of Haiti, Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Peru, etc. They, accordingly, do not change at all by case. Combinations with a toponym ending in -th and a consonant, as a rule, are not declined: Principality of Liechtenstein, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The same rule applies to subjects Russian Federation: Altai Republic, Dagestan Republic, Tatarstan Republic, etc.

Combinations with masculine and feminine place names ending in -a or without an ending are not declined in official documents and strict business speech: in the Republic of Angola, with the Republic of Cuba, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), with the Republic of Lebanon, agreement with the Republic of Belarus, etc. Combinations with geographical names in -ia. Authors of the reference book “Grammatical Correctness of Russian Speech. Stylistic dictionary of variants” Graudina L.K., Itskovich V.A., Katlinskaya L.P. note that “all Slavic and especially Russian toponyms-applications of this group in indirect case forms are declined”: delegation of the Republic of Bulgaria, government of the Federal Republic Yugoslavia, administration of the Republic of Slovenia, etc.

The names of foreign republics in -iya, -eya usually agree with the word republic if they have a feminine form (D. E. Rosenthal, E. V. Dzhandzhakova, N. P. Kabanova. Handbook of spelling, pronunciation, literary editing): trade and relations of the Russian Federation with the Republic of India, the Republic of Switzerland, the government of the Republic of Bolivia, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Adygea, etc.

Meanwhile, official documents also record the indeclinability of such place names in indirect cases: Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya, plenipotentiary representative of the Republic of Colombia, visit to the Republic of India, in the Republic of Korea, on the territory of the Republic of Khakassia, with the Republic of Adygea, etc. In newspaper and colloquial speech in indirect case forms, these place names are usually declined.

In the original form, for the names of both foreign republics and CIS countries and constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the nominative case form is most often used: Republic of Albania, Republic of Zambia, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Federal Republic of Germany, Kingdom of Belgium, Kingdom of Denmark, Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom Norway, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Kalmykia, the Republic of Karelia, etc. There is one exception official name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

2. The names of villages, hamlets, and hamlets usually agree with generic names, for example: born in the village of Goryukhin (Pushkin); to the village of Duevka (Chekhov); behind the Sestrakov (Sholokhov) farm.
Deviations are observed in those names whose gender and number differ from the grammatical gender and number of the words village, village, etc., for example: in the village of Berestechko; outside the village of Berezniki; in the village of Pogrebets; in the village of Uglyanets. The same with compound names: in the village of Malye Mytishchi.

3. The names of rivers, as a rule, are consistent with the generic name, for example: on the Dnieper River (also: on the Moscow River); between the Ob and Yenisei rivers.
Little-known names of rivers, especially foreign ones, usually do not agree: on the Ros River, near the Ptich River; Argun River basin; in the Helmand River Valley (Afghanistan); The capital of Kampuchea is Phnom Penh on the Mekong River. Also often with compound names: a tributary of the Golaya Dolina River; on the Black Volta River (but in accordance with the rule: on the Northern Dvina River).

4. The names of towns, auls, and villages are consistent with the generic name, for example: in the town of Elsk, not far from the village of Arysypay, in the village of Gilyan, at the Zhalanashkol outpost.

5. The names of foreign republics usually agree with the word republic if they have a feminine form, and do not agree if they have a masculine form; compare:
a) trade between Russia and the Republic of India; in the Republic of Switzerland; Government of the Republic of Bolivia; in the South American Republic of Colombia;
b) in the Republic of Vietnam; capital of the Republic of Sudan; Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon.

6. The names of foreign administrative-territorial units do not agree with the generic names, for example: in the state of Texas, in the state of Hyderabad (India), in the province of Tuscany, in the provinces of Khorasan and Isfahan (Iran), in the department of Sena, in the principality of Liechtenstein, in the land Schleswig-Holstein, in Sussex.

7. The names of lakes, bays, straits, canals, bays, islands, peninsulas, mountains, mountain ranges, deserts, etc., as a rule, do not agree with generic names, for example: on Lake Baikal (also: on Lake Ilmen ), near the Gulf of Alaska; in the Skagerrak and Kattegat straits; in the Golden Horn Bay; behind the island New Earth; on the island of Java; on the Florida peninsula; at Cape Chelyuskin; on Mount Elbrus; over the Kuen Lun ridge; in the Karakum desert, near the Sharabad oasis; near the lunar crater Archimedes; over Mount Etna; eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Possible variants with agreement refer to a few well-known names, which are often used independently, without a generic name, for example: past the island of Tsushima; northern half of Sakhalin Island; on the island of Sicily; in the Sahara Desert.
Names that have the form of a full adjective agree: near Mount Magnitnaya, on Lake Ladoga. However, in this case, fluctuations are observed. Wed. in the same article by Konstantin Simonov: The length of Damansky Island is one and a half kilometers. - Provocations took place both near Damansky Island and thirty kilometers from there.

8. Astronomical names do not agree: the movement of a rocket to the planet Venus; orbit of the planet Jupiter; bright light of the star Sirius.

9. The names of stations and ports do not agree, for example: at the Orel station, at the Zlynka station; regular flights between the ports of Odessa and Alexandria; from the Polish port of Gdynia.

10. Street names usually agree if they have a feminine form, and disagree if they have a masculine form or are a compound name; compare:
a) on Sretenka Street; on the corner of Petrovka Street; this passage is called Stromynka Street;
b) on Balchug street; on the corner of Bolshaya Polyanka Street; on the streets of Oleniy Val; Cow Ford; Kashenkin Meadow; on Krakowskie Przedmieście Street (in Warsaw).

Reproduced from: D.E. Rosenthal, Handbook of Spelling and Literary Editing, M., Iris Press, 1999.

The Russian language is replete with many rules that regulate the correct use and spelling of words. But besides this, a literate person must be able to persuade various words. This topic usually raises many questions and doubts not only among schoolchildren, but also among adults. Surnames and geographical names are especially difficult for most people. We will talk about this today in our article.

Toponyms: what are they?

The declension of geographical names is subject to certain rules that you simply need to know by heart. IN otherwise You will find a lot of funny cases that will characterize you from a not very good side in front of your friends or colleagues.

Quite often, when talking about the declension of geographical names in Russian, we mean toponyms. This term refers to all geographic identifiers in general. This word came to us from the ancient Greek language, it was formed from two different words, meaning “place” and “name” in translation. Nowadays, many information sources use the word “toponyms”.

Where can I look up the rules for declension of place names?

Of course, in order to correctly decline geographical names, it is necessary not only to know the rule, but also to apply it to the place. After all, quite often even a person who considers himself literate doubts the spelling of a particular word. In this case, special dictionaries will help you, using which you can check the declension of geographical names. for example, he created an excellent assistant for schoolchildren of all ages - “Dictionary of Difficulties of the Russian Language”. This wonderful reference book can also be used by adults who want to improve their literacy level.

Types of toponyms

Before diving into a topic called “Declination of Place Names,” it’s worth finding out what toponyms are. After all, this significantly changes the rules for their declination. On this moment The following types of toponyms are distinguished in the Russian language:

• Slavic - these include native Russian names or those that have long been mastered in the Russian language;
• compound - this type of toponym usually consists of two words;
• names of the republics;
• foreign - such names have their own categories, for each of which there is a separate declension rule.

Declension rules for Slavic toponyms

The declension of geographical names with Slavic roots is subject to simple rule: The name always agrees with the word applied to it. These words include:

• city;
• village;
• village;
• street, etc.

In these cases, the toponym is placed in the declension of the defining word. For example, you will always say “in the city of Samara” and “in the city of Moscow”. Please note that the qualifying word “city” almost always declines the toponym that follows. This also applies to exceptions. These include the following cases:

• Place names that have a different gender with a defining word are not declined (for example, it would be correct to say - on Lake Salekhard);
• most often place names are not subject to declension plural(for example, in the village of Topotishchi).

If we are talking about street names, then there are different rules for declension of geographical names. A feminine toponym always agrees with the word “street” being defined. In this case, names of the masculine gender are not declined; compound place names are also subject to a similar rule. As an example, the following combinations can be given:

• along Cherry Orchards Street;
• on Kaltuk street;
• to Melodichnaya street.

Place names in the form of an adjective are most often declined: on the Yellow River, at Cape Verde, etc.

Declension of geographical names ending in "o", "e"

For some reason, adults quite often forget about this rule. Annoying mistakes happen even to famous TV presenters and journalists. To be considered a literate person, remember that Slavic place names of the neuter gender are not declined in Russian. It would be correct to say:

• in the city of Kemerovo;
• near the city of Grodno;
• in the village of Komarkovo.

Oddly enough, this simple rule always causes a lot of difficulties. Although there is nothing complicated about it, the main thing is to remember the correct spelling.

Toponyms ending in “ov”, “ev”, “in”, “yn”: declension rules

The declension of geographical names with endings so common in the Russian language causes serious confusion. The fact is that the rules for declension of such toponyms have changed more than once over the past decades. Historically, geographical names with the endings “ov”, “ev”, “in”, “yn” have always been declined. For example, a house in Ostashkov or a dacha in Mogilev.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a tendency not to decline such geographical names. This was due to a series of military operations, when, in order to avoid confusion in reports, names were used only in the nominative case. The military sought to ensure that place names in maps and various orders were identical. Over time, this approach began to be considered the norm and even used on television.

IN last years journalism began to return to the original form of declension of geographical names. But using them in the nominative case is also considered normal and correct.

Complex Slavic place names

The declension of geographical names consisting of several words follows a certain rule. If we are talking about a complex toponym, then its first part is always declined, regardless of the presence or absence of a defining word. As an example, the following names can be given:

• in Rostov-on-Don;
• in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, etc.

There is one exception to this rule - the name of the city Gus-Khrustalny. The first part of this complex toponym should not be declined.

Much confusion is caused by names in which the first part is in the neuter gender. According to the rules of the Russian language, it must be subject to mandatory declension, but in recent years there has been a growing tendency towards the immutability of this part. Therefore, for example, both versions of the spelling will be correct: in Orekhovo-Zuyevo and in Orekhovo-Zuevo.

How to correctly decline toponyms - names of republics?

When you don’t know how to correctly write the name of the republic, then remember the rule that we will talk about now. Names ending in "iya" and "ee" must be consistent with the word "republic". For example, “in the Republic of Korea” or “from the Republic of Macedonia.” But this rule also has its pitfalls, as, indeed, many rules of the Russian language.

Official documents exclude the possibility of declension of such names, although journalism applies the usual rule of the Russian language to them. The exception also applies to Federal Republic Germany. By agreement between our countries, it was decided not to decline this name.

In all other cases, the name does not agree with the word “republic” and remains in the nominative case.

Foreign place names

It is quite difficult for a Russian person to cope with foreign-language geographical names. It's easier to remember which ones don't bow. So, the list of geographical names that are not subject to declension includes:

• Finnish names;
• Georgian and Abkhazian (except for the names of resorts);
• French place names ending with the letter "a";
• compound Italian, Portuguese and Spanish place names;
• administrative-territorial units.

You can only decline names that end in “a” and have been mastered in Russian. For example, in Verona and from Ankara. French names can be declined only if they have acquired the ending “a” in their Russian sound.

If foreign-language geographical names end in “e”, “s”, “i”, “o”, then they are classified as indeclinable. There are many examples of this rule:

• in Tokyo;
• from Mexico City;
• to Santiago.

The exception is names that in Russian are formed from a foreign word. For example, it is correct to write “in the Himalayas.”

Declension of names and surnames

Many people believe that the declension of geographical names and proper names has general rules. This is not entirely true. Of course, the rules have a lot in common, but in reality they are not identical.

Most often, the correct declension of first and last names and geographical names raises a lot of questions in the spring-summer period, when graduates graduate from school and receive certificates. Incorrect spelling of toponyms and proper names in diplomas is quite common. Knowing the rules of the Russian language will help you avoid these unpleasant moments. Let's look at the main points of the rule.

Declension of standard surnames

Declining standard surnames is quite simple - they become the required form intuitively. But in the case where the surname was borrowed from foreign language and ends in “ov”, “in”, then in the instrumental case it will have the ending “om”. For example, the surname Green in the instrumental case will sound like Green.

Questions often arise with inclination female surnames with the ending "ina". In this case, everything depends on the nominative case of the male surname. For example, before us is Andrei Zhemchuzhina. His wife Yulia's surname will be declined as a common noun. For example, the things of Yulia Zhemchuzhina. If the husband’s name is Andrey Zhemchuzhin, then in this case we will talk about the things of Yulia Zhemchuzhina.

Non-standard surnames: how to decline?

Previously, it was believed that the declension of the surname is primarily influenced by But in fact, the predominant factor here is the ending of the surname. Everything depends on him in the first place.

Surnames ending in:

• "oh";
• "their".

Leaning male surnames ending in a consonant. If the surname ends in “ya” and is also preceded by a vowel, then the surname must be declined. In a similar case with the ending “a” the surname refers to the indeclinable.

Of course, the Russian language is not so simple. But if you remember a few of the rules we have listed, you will never blush because of the incorrect spelling of geographical names and proper names.

Myth No. 1. Geographical names on -ovo, -evo, -ino, -yno do not bow down and never have bowed down. Options in Boldin, from Ostankino, in Pulkovo -“newspeak”, illiteracy, corruption of language.

Question from the “Help Bureau” of “Gramota.ru”: Recently, our television announcers have begun to incline the names: in Ostankino, in Konkovo etc. Have we changed the rules of the Russian language or have we made some concessions for announcers so that they don’t bother themselves?

Blog quote: “It pisses me off when they say on the news in Lublin, whereas all my life I believed that it was not bending...” (blogger marinkafriend)

In fact: -ovo, -evo, -ino, -yno, traditionally inclined: in Ostankino, in Peredelkino, to Boldin, to Pulkovo, from Kosovo. The tendency to use the indeclinable option has developed only in recent decades. In other words, the new normal is not in Lublin, A in Lyublino.

From the history: Initially, all such names were inflected (remember Pushkin: “History of the village of Goryukhin A» , from Lermontov: “It’s not for nothing that all of Russia remembers Borodin Day A!» , remember the Soviet film “It was about Penkov e» ). Initially, indeclinable forms were used only in the speech of geographers and military officers, because it was very important to give names in the original form to avoid confusion: Kirov And Kirovo, Pushkin And Pushkino etc. But gradually indeclinable forms began to penetrate into written speech. Thus, in “Grammar of the modern Russian literary language” 1970 year, it was indicated that in the modern Russian literary language there is a tendency to replenish the group of words of zero declension with place names with finals -ov(o), -ev(o), -ev(o), -in(o). In other words, intransigence was just beginning to spread.

Quote on topic:“The habit of not declining the names of places apparently originates from military reports. But is it good that the newspaper spreads and takes root this habit? “I live in Odintsovo, in Kratovo,” and not “in Odintsovo, in Kratovo” - the habit of not inflecting names gives living speech some kind of official character” (L.K. Chukovskaya. In the editor’s laboratory).

"Russian Grammar" 1980 indicated: “Geographical names on -ovo, -evo And -ino, -ino: Ivanovo, Biryulyovo, Kuntsevo, Sarajevo, Boldino, Borodino, Golitsyno and under. in modern colloquial, professional, newspaper speech they show a tendency towards immutability. Despite this, in written speech, in accordance with current grammatical rules, geographical names in - ov(O), -yev(O), -ev(O), -in(O), -yn(O) are inclined: IN sky above Tushin(gas.); Speech coming about airport V Sheremetyevo(gas.). The indeclinability of geographical names is normal in the following cases: 1) If such a name is an appendix to one of the following generalizing words: village, village, village, station, encampment, less often – city: V village Vasilkovo, V village Pushkino, V village Belkino, on stations Gogolevo. 2) If the settlement is named own name famous person: near Repino(name of a village near Leningrad), near from Lermontovo(name of a small town near Penza).”

30 years have passed since then - and inflexible options have become so widespread that initially the only correct inflected option is today perceived by many as erroneous(see the words of the blogger above). Once upon a time A. A. Akhmatova was indignant if they said in front of her we live in Kratovo instead of we live in Kratovo, and the writer V.I. Belov sarcastically suggested to the speakers I live in Kemerovo pronounce in the same way from the window. Nowadays, many consider this very use to be a corruption of the language - in Kratovo, in Strogin, in Pulkovo– i.e. corresponding to strict literary norms.

However, the inflexibility of the names in question gradually became normative, which is said (albeit with caution) modern dictionaries. Here is a quote from the “Grammar Dictionary of the Russian Language” by A. A. Zaliznyak: “...It is very common - both in oral speech and in print - to use a given word [toponym in -ovo, -ino] as unchangeable, for example: lives in Kuntsevo, we are approaching Ostankino, a kilometer from Borodino instead of literary lives in Kuntsevo, we are approaching Ostankino, a kilometer from Borodin. The prevalence of this phenomenon is so significant that it appears to be approaching the status of an acceptable variant.”

Thus, today both variants function in free use - inflected and indeclinable. Let us also note that over the past decades, the tendency noted by “Russian Grammar” not to change the original form of the names of settlements, if they are used as an appendix, along with the generic name, has finally taken hold. “Handbook of the Russian language: spelling, pronunciation, literary editing” by D. E. Rosenthal, E. V. Dzhandzhakova, N. P. Kabanova (M., 2010) indicates: “The above names [names of cities, villages, villages] do not agree , villages, estates in combination with a generic word], if they are expressed... by proper names in - ovo (-evo), -yno (-ino) – in the city of Ivanovo, from the village of Pushkino».

So let's remember elementary truth No. 1.

Basic truth No. 1. Geographical names of Slavic origin ending in -ovo, -evo, -ino, -yno, do not decline in combination with a generic word: from the Lyublino district, towards the Strogino district, towards the Mitino district, in the city of Ivanovo, from the village of Prostokvashino, to the edge of Kosovo. If there is no generic word, then both options are possible, inflected (old) and indeclinable (new): in Lublin And in Lyublino, towards Strogin And towards Strogino, in Ivanovo And to Ivanovo, from Prostokvashino And from Prostokvashino to Kosovo And to Kosovo, to Mitin And to Mitino, 8th microdistrict of Mitino and 8th microdistrict of Mitino. In this case, the inflected version corresponds to strict literary norms. The dictionary of L.K. Graudina, V.A. Itskovich, L.P. Katlinskaya “Grammatical correctness of Russian speech” indicates: “In an exemplary literary style (from the stage, from the television screen, in radio speech) these forms should be declined.”