два/три/четыре + Adjective + Noun

When using the numbers два/две (two), три (three), or четыре (four) — as well as оба/обе (both) and полтора/полторы (one and a half) — Russian requires a specific combination of cases:

• The Numeral 'Two', 'Both', and '1.5': Use два, оба, and полтора for masculine and neuter nouns, and две, обе, and полторы for feminine nouns.
• The Noun: In the Genitive Singular (except in the Animate Accusative and for substantivized adjectives).
• Masculine & Neuter Adjectives: Must be in the Genitive Plural. (Note: In 19th-century literature, the Nominative Plural was standard, which is useful to know when reading classics).
• Feminine Adjectives: Usually in the Nominative Plural, though the Genitive Plural is a standard variant. Note: If a feminine noun's stress shifts between Genitive Singular and Nominative Plural (e.g., гора vs горы), the Genitive Plural adjective is strongly preferred.
• Substantivized Adjectives: Adjectives acting as nouns take the Genitive Plural for masculine/neuter, but feminine ones frequently take the Nominative Plural (e.g., две столовые).
• Preceding Modifiers: Demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns, and preceding adjectives (like эти, мои, наши, последние, каждые) preceding the numeral almost always take the Nominative Plural regardless of gender (e.g., последние два года). Exception: Words expressing completeness or excess (целый, полный, добрый, лишний) take the Genitive Plural when preceding the number (e.g., целых два месяца). However, with полтора/полторы, both Nominative Plural and Genitive Plural are acceptable (e.g., добрые полчаса or добрых полчаса).
• Postposed Modifiers: Adjectives or participles placed after the noun phrase usually take the Nominative Plural (e.g., два дома, построенные в прошлом году).
• Possessive Adjectives: Possessive adjectives ending in -ин and -ов (e.g., мамин, сестрин) usually take the Genitive Plural regardless of the noun's gender. Meanwhile, animal/possessive adjectives ending in -ий, -ья, -ье (e.g., лисий, медвежий) follow the standard gender rules.
• Plural-only Nouns (Pluralia tantum): Nouns that only exist in the plural (e.g., сутки, часы, очки) cannot be used with два/три/четыре. Instead, they require collective numerals (двое, трое, четверо) followed by the Genitive Plural (e.g., двое суток, not два сутки).

Important Conditions:
1. This rule only applies if the whole phrase is in the Nominative or Inanimate Accusative case. If the case changes, the numeral, adjective, and noun all agree in the plural of that case. However, note that полтора/полторы does not have a plural form; it changes to the universal oblique form полутора for all genders in all cases except Nominative/Accusative.
2. If the noun is animate (people or animals) and used as a direct object, it follows the Animate Plural Accusative rule (shifting to Genitive Plural, e.g., вижу двух молодых девушек). Note: For animals, the Nominative-like construction is sometimes used colloquially, specifically for feminine nouns (e.g., купить две коровы).
3. For compound numbers, the form is determined by the last word. Exceptions: Numbers ending in 11-14 follow the 5 and above rule, requiring the Genitive Plural for both adjectives and nouns. Additionally, for compound numbers ending in 2, 3, or 4 (e.g., 22, 33), the Animate Accusative rule is suspended, and the phrase takes the Nominative/Inanimate form (e.g., вижу двадцать два студента). For compound numbers with plural-only nouns, collective numerals cannot be used (e.g., двадцать двое суток is incorrect). Instead, substitute the noun (e.g., двадцать два дня) or use a counter word (e.g., двадцать две штуки ножниц).