Plural Nouns

Level 1

Most plural nouns end in -y, -e, -i, -á or -a. The right ending depends on the gender of the noun and on its last sound.

How It Works

The plural ending depends on the gender and on the last sound of the noun.

Masculine, people (animate):

  • -i: chlap → chlapi, kamarát → kamaráti. Before -i, k changes to c: Slovák → Slováci.
  • -ia: učiteľ → učitelia, brat → bratia.
  • -ovia: syn → synovia, hrdina → hrdinovia.

Masculine, things (inanimate):

  • -y after a hard consonant: stôl → stoly, dom → domy, dub → duby.
  • -e after a soft consonant: stroj → stroje, počítač → počítače.

Feminine:

  • -y: žena → ženy, kniha → knihy.
  • -e: ulica → ulice, dlaň → dlane.
  • -i: kosť → kosti, noc → noci.

Neuter:

  • -á: mesto → mestá, auto → autá. After a long syllable the ending is short, because of the rhythmic law: miesto → miesta, číslo → čísla.
  • -ia: srdce → srdcia, vysvedčenie → vysvedčenia.
  • -atá: dievča → dievčatá, mláďa → mláďatá. Dieťa has a special plural: deti.

A plural subject needs a plural verb: Stoly sú nové. (The tables are new.) Animals usually form their plural like things, so pes becomes psy.

Examples (6)

  1. Stoly sú nové.

    The tables are new.

    Stôl is a masculine thing with a hard ending, so it takes -y.

  2. Ženy pracujú v meste.

    The women work in town.

    Žena takes -y in the plural.

  3. Ulice sú úzke.

    The streets are narrow.

    Ulica has a soft c before -a, so it takes -e.

  4. Chlapi hrajú futbal.

    The men are playing football.

    Chlap names a man, so it takes -i.

  5. Mestá sú veľké.

    The towns are big.

    Neuter mesto takes -á in the plural.

  6. Učitelia sú v škole.

    The teachers are at school.

    Nouns in -teľ take -ia, and ľ is written l before it.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving a neuter noun a masculine or feminine plural ending.

    Tie mesty sú krásne.
    Tie mestá sú krásne.

    Mesto is neuter, so its plural ends in -á.

  • Using -i instead of -ia for nouns in -teľ.

    Učiteli sú tu.
    Učitelia sú tu.

    Nouns for people ending in -teľ take -ia in the plural: učitelia, priatelia.

  • Writing -i after a hard consonant.

    Ženi sú doma.
    Ženy sú doma.

    Žena has a hard n before -a, so its plural takes -y. Writing ni would change the sound to a soft ň.

How It Connects

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

Plural NounsLevel 1

Learn This First

Before Plural Nouns, learn Noun Gender. Plural endings depend on the noun's gender.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.