пет и више + Genitive Plural
Counting Five or More
When counting five or more items (5, 6, 7... 10, 25, etc.), the noun does not take the nominative plural. Instead, it must be in the genitive plural (usually ending in -а), along with any adjectives (ending in -их).
How It Works
Counting in Serbian follows a tripartite division based on the final word (numeral element) of the number phrase:
- Phrases ending with 1 trigger regular singular adjective/noun agreement (један; једна; једно).
- Phrases ending with 2, 3, and 4 govern the paucal form (два; две; три; четири).
- 5 and above govern the genitive plural.
Which numbers follow this rule?
- Single cardinals: пет (5), шест (6), седам (7), осам (8), девет (9), десет (10).
- Teens: једанаест (11) through деветнаест (19). Notice that numbers like 12 and 14 belong here because they end in -наест, not 2 or 4.
- Tens and round numbers: двадесет (20), педесет (50), сто (100).
- Any compound number whose final spoken word is 5–10, a teen (11–19), or a tens/hundreds unit: e.g., двадесет пет (25), тридесет осам (38), or сто дванаест (112: сто дванаест књига).
Morphological Effects:
- Nouns most commonly take the genitive plural suffix -а with a long vowel (e.g., књига → књига, град → градова). Certain nouns instead take the ending -и, such as feminine i-stem nouns (ствар → ствари) and irregular plurals like људи (e.g., пет људи).
- A fleeting а (непостојано а) frequently surfaces before the ending to break consonant clusters (e.g., студент → студената, девојка → девојака).
- Modifying adjectives take the genitive plural ending -их for all genders (e.g., пет нових аутомобила).
Verb Agreement:
When a phrase with 5+ nouns serves as the subject, standard Serbian uses default 3rd-person singular agreement in the present tense (долази пет људи) and neuter singular in compound past tenses (перфекат: било је пет књига).
Examples (4)
- Имам пет нових књига.
I have five new books.
Word by Word: I-have five new-GEN.PL books-GEN.PL
The cardinal number 'пет' requires both the adjective 'нових' and the noun 'књига' to be in the genitive plural.
- У учионици је седело десет студената.
Ten students were sitting in the classroom.
Word by Word: In classroom AUX sat-NEUT.SG ten students-GEN.PL
Notice the verb agreement: 'десет студената' triggers the default neuter singular past participle 'седело је'.
- Купио је двадесет осам јабука на пијаци.
He bought twenty-eight apples at the market.
Word by Word: Bought AUX twenty eight apples-GEN.PL at market
Compound numbers agree according to their final pronounced numeral. Because 'осам' ends the number 28, 'јабука' appears in the genitive plural.
- Овде ради шест добрих лекара.
Six good doctors work here.
Word by Word: Here works-3RD.SG six good-GEN.PL doctors-GEN.PL
With 'шест', the adjective takes the genitive plural '-их' (добрих) and the noun takes '-а' (лекара). The verb remains singular ('ради').
Common Mistakes
Using the nominative plural instead of the genitive plural after numerals 5 and above.
Имам пет нови градови.Имам пет нових градова.English speakers often reach for the regular plural (nominative plural), but 5+ requires the genitive plural suffix '-а' (and extended stem '-ов-' for monosyllabic masculine nouns).
Using a plural past participle when a 5+ phrase is the subject.
Пет студената су дошли јуче.Пет студената је дошло јуче.In standard Serbian, phrases with 5+ are syntactically singular collective quantities, so the predicate verb must default to 3rd-person singular neuter ('је дошло').
Treating teen numbers ending in 2, 3, or 4 (like 12 or 14) as paucal numbers.
У соби је било дванаест човека.У соби је било дванаест људи.The numbers 11 through 19 are treated as fixed indeclinables that govern the genitive plural. Only numbers actually ending in 2, 3, or 4 (like 2, 22, 34) take the paucal form.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To count objects using numbers five and higher in Serbian, learners need to understand how gender affects noun inflections, how plural nouns are structured generally, and how counting in Serbian changes case rules compared to smaller numbers (2-4).
- два / две / три / четириCounting Two to Four
Understanding how smaller cardinal numbers govern specific noun cases (paucal/genitive singular) provides the direct foundation for contrasting counting five and above with genitive plural.
Level 1 - -и / -е / -аCommon Noun Plurals
Familiarity with regular plural noun bases helps learners understand and apply the genitive plural endings for quantities.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- један / једна / једноOne with Noun Agreement
Shows how the numeral 1 agrees fully in gender, number, and case, contrasting with the indeclinable counting rules of 5+.
Level 1 - -а (генитив множине)Common Genitive Plurals
Details the morphological endings and sound changes used when forming the genitive plural required by 5+.
Level 2 - Compound Number Agreement
Explains how compound numbers determine noun agreement based on whether the final digit is 1, 2–4, or 5+.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
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