деца / људи
Frequent Irregular Plurals
In Serbian, the plurals of дете (child) and човек (person/man) do not take regular endings. Instead, Serbian uses деца (a feminine singular collective noun meaning 'children') and људи (a suppletive masculine plural noun meaning 'people').
How It Works
Neither дете nor човек forms standard plurals using ordinary suffixation like номинатив множине на -и; -е; -а or проширена множина на -ови; -еви. Instead, they use collective morphology and lexical suppletion.
The Nuance of 'деца':
Grammatically, деца is a collective noun (збирна именица). Even though it refers to multiple children, morphologically it belongs to the feminine a-declension. This creates an agreement split between modifiers and predicates:
• Attributive agreement: Any adjective, pronoun, or demonstrative modifying деца takes feminine singular agreement: моја добра деца, ова мала деца.
• Predicative agreement: Finite verbs and auxiliaries are 3rd person plural (деца трче, деца су...), but active l-participles and predicative adjectives must take neuter plural forms ending in -а: деца су спавала, деца су била добра (never masculine plural *спавали or *били).
The Declension of 'људи':
The noun човек uses a completely suppletive root, људи, for its plural. It behaves as a standard masculine plural noun, but preserves an older genitive plural ending in -и rather than -а:
• Nom/Voc: људи
• Gen: људи
• Dat/Loc/Inst: људима
• Acc: људе
Special Counting Rules:
• Counting people: With numerals 2, 3, 4 (and compounds ending in 2, 3, 4), Serbian uses the paucal form of човек (два, три, четири човека). With 5 and above, use the genitive plural of људи (пет људи).
• Counting children: The collective noun деца cannot directly combine with cardinal numbers (*два деца). To express exact quantities of children, speakers either use the paucal singular form of дете with numerals 2–4 (два детета, три детета, четири детета) or collective numerals governing the genitive (двоје деце, троје деце, петоро деце).
Examples (6)
- Ова добра деца се играју у парку.
These good children are playing in the park.
Word by Word: This good children self play in park.
Notice that 'ова добра' is feminine singular, while the verb 'играју се' is plural.
- Деца су јуче дошла кући рано.
The children came home early yesterday.
Word by Word: Children are yesterday come-f.sg/n.pl to-home early.
In the past tense, the auxiliary 'су' is plural, and the active participle ends in '-ла' (дошла).
- Многи људи су дошли да помогну.
Many people came to help.
Word by Word: Many people are come-m.pl that help.
'Људи' triggers standard masculine plural agreement in both modifiers ('многи') and past participles ('дошли').
- На улици су била само три човека.
There were only three men/people on the street.
Word by Word: On street are been only three man-paucal.
With numerals 2, 3, and 4, the paucal form 'човека' is used instead of 'људи'.
- У сали је било преко педесет људи.
There were over fifty people in the hall.
Word by Word: In hall is been over fifty people-gen.pl.
Numbers 5 and above govern the genitive plural form 'људи'.
- Они имају троје деце.
They have three children.
Word by Word: They have three-coll child-gen.sg.
To count children, use collective numerals like 'троје' followed by the genitive 'деце'.
Common Mistakes
Using masculine or neuter plural adjectives to modify 'деца'.
Они добри деца спавају у соби.Она добра деца спавају у соби.Although 'деца' refers to multiple individuals, adjectives modifying it must take feminine singular endings (она добра деца).
Using 'људи' directly with numerals 2, 3, or 4.
Видео сам два људи у парку.Видео сам два човека у парку.Serbian uses the paucal form 'човека' with 2, 3, and 4. The word 'људи' is used only with numerals 5 and above.
Forming the genitive plural of 'људи' with standard endings like '-а' or '-ова'.
Тамо није било пуно људова.Тамо није било пуно људи.The genitive plural of 'људи' retains an archaic ending in '-и', so it looks identical to the nominative plural.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Understanding irregular plurals like 'деца' and 'људи' requires familiarity with regular plural endings and knowledge of how adjectives and verbs agree in gender and number with atypical nouns.
Related Patterns
- деца / браћаCollective Nouns and Agreement
Explains the broader category of collective nouns that trigger feminine singular attributive agreement and neuter plural participles.
Level 3 - два / две / три / четириCounting Two to Four
Covers the paucal forms required with 2, 3, and 4, explaining both 'два човека' and 'два детета'.
Level 1 - пет и више + Genitive PluralCounting Five or More
Explains how numbers 5 and above govern the genitive plural, which is where 'људи' is required.
Level 1 - двоје / троје / четвороCollective Numerals
Covers collective numerals, which quantify groups of children with the genitive form 'деце' (e.g., двоје деце).
Level 3 - -и / -е / -аCommon Noun Plurals
Provides the regular plural patterns that irregular nouns like 'дете' and 'човек' deviate from.
Level 1
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Practice деца / људи in Bubblegum
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