How to say things like:
Я вижу... дитя, лицо (в значении "человек"), животное, насекомое, млекопитающее, существо ("живой организм"), чудище, чудовище, страшилище...
Do they stay the same or do we need to change them?
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How about words like: мертвец, покойник.... They are dead.....but they seem to be treated as living....? Weird... :(– Juan Carlos SolanoMar 28, 2021 at 17:10
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1'They are dead.....but they seem to be treated as living'. Yes. Я вижу мертвеца, покойника. But 'я вижу труп'. /// Я вижу страшных зомби, снеговика, красивых кукол и матрёшек. But 'Я вижу красивые статуэтки балерин и красивые фигурки оловянных солдатиков.' /// Я вижу шахматные фигуры: короля, ферзя (королеву), слона (офицера), коня. But 'я вижу белые ладьи и черные пешки.– ElenaMar 29, 2021 at 10:15
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1 Answer
As you might know, the Accusative of masculine (second declension) nouns depends on animacy: it is the same as Genitive for animate nouns and Nominative for inanimate:
- вижу тигра, тигров (animate)
- вижу стол, столы (inanimate)
Neuter nouns follow the same rule in the plural:
- вижу животных, насекомых, чудищ, детей, лиц (animate)
- вижу облака, окна, лёгкие (inanimate)
However, in the singular, Accusative always equals Nominative for neuter nouns, regardless of animacy:
- вижу дитя, чадо, животное, чудище, лицо, облако, лёгкое.
When in doubt, double-check yourself using this online declension tool:
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I mistook ellipsis in the question as a placeholder for an adjective, I think your answer is not only better but actually, well, an answer, so I'm deleting mine )– shabunc ♦Mar 28, 2021 at 20:25
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2In addition to the answer, the old discussion that I meant in my comment: How should I inflect animate nouns when they are used to figuratively call inanimate objects, and vice versa? and there are further related links there as well.– tum_Mar 29, 2021 at 11:24