In Russian, when an object directly receives the action of a verb, it is in the Accusative case. For inanimate masculine and neuter things, the grammar is delightfully straightforward: their forms do not change at all from the nominative. In this deck, you will learn to ask what someone is doing and speak about everyday objects as direct objects.

The question word for 'what' as a direct object is 'что', pronounced 'shto'. To ask a question, place 'что' at the start of the sentence before the subject and verb. For example, 'Что ты читаешь?' means 'What are you reading?'.

When an inanimate masculine noun ends in a hard consonant, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form. Nouns like 'журнал' for magazine, 'билет' for ticket, and 'урок' for lesson do not change when receiving an action. For example, 'Я читаю журнал' means 'I am reading a magazine'.