Уро́к 1
1.7 Grammar: Plural Nouns
Люби́мая Грамма́тика
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Watch!
For now, just watch the following video. And see if you can make sense of it all:
[VIDEO] – need to delete some sections at 4:14 and 9:27 (нож / ножи mispronounced)
I. Introduction
OK, you have a feel for what’s going on with making something singular into a plural (into a more than one). In Russian, you don’t add -s; you add -ы, -и, or -а/я. So…when do you do what? That’s what this page is for. Sit tight.
II. Plural of Russian Nouns
Nouns are typically pluralized by changing the ending of the singular noun. You probably noticed. What the ending changes to depends on two things: gender and spelling of the Nominative form of the noun.
- Masculine and Feminine nouns are usually made plural by adding -ы or -и, depending on spelling, to the end of the noun stem.
- Neuter nouns are typically made plural by adding а or я to the noun stem, depending on spelling.
III. Rules by Gender
[VIDEO]
Masculine Nouns
For masculine nouns, consider the following:
- If the noun ends in one of these 7 letters: к, г, х, ш, щ, ж, ч, add -и to the stem.
- If it ends in a soft sign ь, or the soft consonant й, drop that final soft letter and add -и to the stem.
- If it ends in any other consonant, add -ы to the stem.
Feminine Nouns
For feminine nouns:
- DROP the feminine -а, -я, or soft sign ь ending
- ADD –и if the final stem consonant is к, г, х, ш, щ, ж, ч or ь (just like the masculine rule above.
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- Note: If a feminine singular noun ends in the soft series vowel -я then, the final stem consonant is soft and the plural is -и.
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- ADD –ы for any other final stem consonant (just like the masculine rule).
Neuter Nouns
For neuter nouns:
- DROP the neuter ending –о, –е, or –ё.
- ADD -а if the neuter singular ends in the hard series vowel -о.
- ADD -я if the neuter singular ends in the soft series vowel -е or -ё.
IV. The 7 Letter Spelling Rule
For Masculine and Feminine nouns, if the final consonant of the stem is one of 7 letters, add -и to make the noun plural. This rule actually applies EVERYWHERE in Russian, but we see it first here on the topic of plurals.
к, г, х, ч, ж, ш, щ
Here are some examples by gender.
Masculine
- каранда́ш – карандаши́ pencil – pencils
- ключ – ключи́ key – keys
- эта́ж – этажи́ floor – floors
Feminine
- ко́шка – ко́шки cat – cats
- бума́га – бума́ги paper – papers
V. SOFT ENDINGS & Neuter Nouns
[VIDEO]
Masculine and feminine nouns also get an и plural if the singular form has a final soft consonant, indicated by a final ь , й for masculine nouns, or the soft series я for feminine nouns. Here are some examples by gender.
Masculine
- музе́й – музе́и ‘museum – museums’
- слова́рь – словари́ ‘dictionary – dictionaries’
Feminine
- тетра́дь – тетра́ди notebook – notebooks
- ви́шня – ви́шни cherry – cherries
- семья́ – семьи́ family – families
VI. HARD STEM ENDINGS:
For ALL other 13 endings, add –ы after the final, (hard) consonants.
Some examples are given below by gender and this list is not exhaustive. Not all 13 other endings are given here.
Masculine
- компью́тер – компью́теры ‘computer – computers’
- стол – столы́ ‘table – tables’
- клуб – клу́бы ‘club – clubs’
- рестора́н – рестора́ны ‘restaurant – restaurants’
Feminine
- пи́цца – пи́ццы
- ла́мпа – ла́мпы
- актри́са – актри́сы
VII. Finally
There ARE some exceptions and oddities, OF COURSE, but you’ll do well to learn these rules here for now!
