This pattern applies to many nouns whose nominative singular ends in о.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | слово | слова |
| Accusative | слово | слова |
| Genitive | слова | слов |
| Prepositional | слове | словах |
| Dative | слову | словам |
| Instrumental | словом | словами |
Other nouns that work like this are: правило, детство, право, болото, место, and существо.
The general rule for first declension neuter nouns is that the accusative singular always copies the nominative singular. The accusative plural copies the genitive plural if the noun is animate. However, there are very few neuter nouns that are animate, so for most practical purposes a first-year student doesn't need to worry about them. Among those words are: существо "living being" and чудовище "monster," which decline like nouns, and several that decline like adjectives: животное "animal," насекомое "insect," млекопитающее "mammal" and пресмыкающееся "reptile."