неколку / некои / многумина

Quantities of People and Things

Level 3Sounds Like nekolku; nekoi; mnogumina

неколку = a few, several; некои = some, certain ones; многу = many; многумина = many people: неколку дена (a few days), некои луѓе (some people), Многумина мислат така (Many people think so).

How It Works

Неколку means a small number, like English a few or several. A masculine thing after it takes the count form, just as after a number: неколку дена, неколку часа. Other nouns take the normal plural: неколку книги, неколку пријатели.

Некои is the plural of некој. It picks out part of a group: Некои студенти дојдоа, а некои не (Some students came and some did not). English also uses some for an unknown amount, as in Do you want some coffee? Macedonian usually leaves that out: Сакаш ли кафе?

Многу means many or a lot and never changes: многу луѓе, многу работа (see многу and малку).

Многумина (many people) and неколкумина (a few people) are built like the people numbers петмина and шестмина. They count people only and usually stand without a noun: Многумина мислат дека е тешко, Дојдоа само неколкумина. They sound a little more formal than многу луѓе and неколку луѓе, which mean the same thing.

For every and all, see секој and сите. For rough numbers such as about ten, see approximate quantities.

Examples (6)

  1. Ќе останам неколку дена во Охрид.

    I'll stay in Ohrid for a few days.

    Ден is a masculine thing, so it takes the count form дена after неколку.

  2. Имам неколку прашања.

    I have a few questions.

  3. Некои луѓе не јадат месо.

    Some people don't eat meat.

    Некои picks out part of all people.

  4. Некои студенти дојдоа, а некои не.

    Some students came and some didn't.

  5. Многумина мислат дека македонскиот јазик е тежок.

    Many people think Macedonian is difficult.

    Многумина already means many people and takes a plural verb.

  6. На состанокот дојдоа само неколкумина.

    Only a few people came to the meeting.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a singular verb after многумина.

    Многумина мисли така.
    Многумина мислат така.

    Многумина means many people, so the verb is plural.

  • Using the masculine count form with a feminine noun.

    Купив неколку книга.
    Купив неколку книги.

    Only masculine things take the count form in -а after неколку. Книга is feminine, so its plural is книги.

How It Connects

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неколку / некои / многуминаLevel 3Quantities of People and Things

Learn This First

Quantities of people build on некој and number forms.

Words in This Pattern

неколкумногуминамногуминамногуминанеколкумина