divdesmit viens + Singular

Twenty-One with the Singular

Level 3

If a number ends in viens or viena, the noun is singular: divdesmit viens gads (twenty-one years), trīsdesmit viena grāmata (thirty-one books).

How It Works

1. The rule.

  • divdesmit viens gads — 21 years
  • trīsdesmit viena grāmata — 31 books
  • četrdesmit viena diena — 41 days

Compare divdesmit divi gadi (22 years) and divdesmit piecas grāmatas (25 books), where the last word is plural.

2. Other cases. Divdesmit never changes, so only viens and the noun take case endings, both in the singular: Mēs tur pavadījām trīsdesmit vienu dienu. (We spent thirty-one days there.) Šis noteikums ir spēkā divdesmit vienā valstī. (This rule applies in twenty-one countries.) See numbers in other cases.

3. Age. Man ir divdesmit viens gads, but Man ir divdesmit divi gadi (see saying your age).

4. Eleven is different. Vienpadsmit is one word and does not end in viens, so its noun is plural: vienpadsmit gadi, or often the genitive plural vienpadsmit gadu, as after other numbers that never change (see numbers with the genitive).

Examples (6)

  1. Man ir trīsdesmit viens gads.

    I am thirty-one.

    Word by Word: To-me is thirty one year.

    The number ends in viens, so gads is singular.

  2. Plauktā ir divdesmit viena grāmata.

    There are twenty-one books on the shelf.

    Grāmata is feminine, so the number ends in viena.

  3. Mūsu klasē mācās divdesmit viens skolēns.

    Twenty-one pupils study in our class.

  4. Mēs tur pavadījām trīsdesmit vienu dienu.

    We spent thirty-one days there.

    Accusative singular: vienu dienu. Trīsdesmit does not change.

  5. Šis noteikums ir spēkā divdesmit vienā valstī.

    This rule applies in twenty-one countries.

    Locative singular: vienā valstī.

  6. Viņam ir divdesmit divi gadi.

    He is twenty-two.

    Compare: when the number ends in divi, the noun is plural.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a plural noun after a number ending in viens.

    Man ir divdesmit viens gadi.
    Man ir divdesmit viens gads.

    The noun agrees with viens, which is singular.

  • Making the number feminine but the noun plural.

    Plauktā ir trīsdesmit viena grāmatas.
    Plauktā ir trīsdesmit viena grāmata.

    Viena and the noun are both singular.

  • Using masculine viens with a feminine noun.

    Plauktā ir divdesmit viens grāmata.
    Plauktā ir divdesmit viena grāmata.

    Viens agrees with the noun's gender. Grāmata is feminine, so use viena.

How It Connects

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

divdesmit viens + SingularLevel 3Twenty-One with the Singular

Learn This First

Twenty-one takes the singular.

Words in This Pattern

viensvienā