Ch 1 · Lesson 26Russian · Chapter 1 · Lesson 26 · Grammar primer
Столы, книги, окна: the plural
Masculine and feminine take -ы or -и, neuter takes -а or -я. And Russian never writes ы after г, or х: , not книгы.
The short version
Never ы after г, х
? (Gde moi knigi?)
Why?Hide
Masculine nouns ending in a hard consonant and feminine nouns in -а make their plural with -ы: , ; , . But Russian never writes ы after г, , х, , ш, щ or ч, so those nouns take -и instead: , ; , . Neuter nouns go their own way: , .
The whole system on one screen
| Gender | Ends in | Example | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | consonant, -й | | |
| feminine | -а, -я | | |
| neuter | -о, -е, -мя | | |
| either | -ь | | |
In order: table, museum; book, week; window, sea; day, night. The agreement shows on the word for my:
Two things break the pattern, and both are covered below: nouns in a soft sign, and men's words ending in -а.
The plural: -ы, -и, -а
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| | masculine: add -ы |
| | -й becomes -и |
| | -а becomes -ы |
| | -я becomes -и |
| | -ь becomes -и |
| | neuter -о becomes -а |
| | neuter -е becomes -я |
| | -мя nouns: -мена |
?- Where are my magazines?
A group of common masculine nouns take a stressed -а instead of -ы. They are worth learning as you meet them:
,- house, houses,- town, towns
A few plurals are simply irregular, and the dictionary will show them: , (day, days).
The spelling rule behind -и
In endings, Russian never writes ы after seven letters: г, , х, , ш, щ and ч. Where the rule above would give -ы, these nouns take -и instead.
| Singular | Plural | Why |
|---|---|---|
| | after г |
| | after к |
| | after ж |
In order: books, cats, knives. This is a spelling rule, not a grammar rule: it applies to every ending in the language, and you will meet it again in the adjectives.
Going further: Masculine: a consonant or -й and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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Lesson 26 of 43 in this chapter