pet and više + Genitive Plural

Five and More

Level 2

After five to twenty, and after round numbers such as trideset, the noun is in the genitive plural: pet knjiga, šest sestara, deset godina.

How It Works

GenderNumberExample
masculinepetpet stolova, pet dana, pet prijatelja
femininešestšest kuća, šest sestara
neutersedamsedam sela, sedam mora

The form is the same for the numbers from five to twenty and for round numbers such as trideset and sto. Numbers that end in one, two, three or four, such as dvadeset jedan or dvadeset dva, follow other entries. It also follows words that mean "many" or "few": mnogo knjiga, malo kafe (a little coffee uses the genitive singular).

Watch the exceptions. Ljudi (people) and djeca (children) are irregular: deset ljudi, pet djece. Some nouns also add a vowel to the genitive plural, such as sestra becoming sestara. Another entry gives the full list of patterns.

Numbers that end in two, three or four, like dvadeset dva, use the forms from the entry on small numbers, not this one.

Examples (5)

  1. Na stolu je pet knjiga.

    There are five books on the table.

    Knjiga stays knjiga in the genitive plural.

  2. U Sarajevu živim deset godina.

    I have lived in Sarajevo for ten years.

    Godina has the same form in the genitive plural.

  3. Šest kuća je u ulici.

    Six houses are on the street.

    Kuća in the genitive plural.

  4. Kupujem pet stolova.

    I am buying five tables.

    Masculine sto adds -ova.

  5. U kafani ima deset ljudi.

    There are ten people in the cafe.

    Ljudi is irregular.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the singular after a bigger number.

    Imam pet sto.
    Imam pet stolova.

    After the numbers from five to twenty, the noun needs the genitive plural.

  • Reusing the small-number ending.

    Imamo šest kuće.
    Imamo šest kuća.

    Kuće is for two, three and four. After six, the form is kuća.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

pet and više + Genitive PluralLevel 2Five and More

Learn This First

Numbers from five take the genitive plural.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

petšestsedamgenitivmnožinaviše