Plural-Only Nouns

Level 3

Some Slovak nouns have only plural forms, even for a single object: nohavice (trousers), dvere (door), okuliare (glasses), Vianoce (Christmas).

How It Works

Common plural-only nouns.

  • Clothes and tools: nohavice (trousers), okuliare (glasses), nožnice (scissors)
  • Things in the home: dvere (door), hodiny (clock), husle (violin)
  • Events and times of day: Vianoce (Christmas), narodeniny (birthday), prázdniny (school holidays), raňajky (breakfast)
  • Many place names: Košice, Michalovce, Piešťany, Tatry

Agreement. Everything that goes with these nouns is plural: Dvere sú zatvorené. (The door is closed.) Kde sú moje okuliare? (Where are my glasses?) Vianoce boli krásne. (Christmas was lovely.)

Case forms. They decline like ordinary plurals: bez okuliarov, za dverami, vo dverách, počas Vianoc, do Košíc, v Košiciach, s nožnicami.

Counting. For one, use the plural form jedny, and for two, three and four use the group numbers dvoje, troje, štvoro instead of dva, tri, štyri. Say jedny nohavice (one pair of trousers), dvoje dverí (two doors) and troje okuliarov (three pairs of glasses). After dvoje, troje and štvoro, standard Slovak puts the noun in the genitive plural. See group numbers.

Hodiny. Hodiny (clock) looks like the plural of hodina (hour). Context shows which one is meant: Hodiny idú presne. (The clock is right.) Čakal som dve hodiny. (I waited two hours.)

Examples (6)

  1. Kde sú moje okuliare?

    Where are my glasses?

    Word by Word: Where are my glasses?

    Okuliare is plural, so the verb is sú.

  2. Zatvor, prosím, dvere.

    Please close the door.

    Word by Word: Close, please, door.

    Dvere means one door but has only plural forms.

  3. Na Vianoce ideme k babke.

    At Christmas we're going to Grandma's.

    Word by Word: On Christmas we-go to grandma.

  4. Košice sú krásne.

    Košice is beautiful.

    Word by Word: Košice are beautiful.

    The town name is plural, so the verb and adjective are plural too.

  5. Táto izba má dvoje dverí.

    This room has two doors.

    Word by Word: This room has two(set) doors(gen.).

    Plural-only nouns count with dvoje, not dva or dve, and the noun after dvoje is in the genitive plural.

  6. Zajtra mám narodeniny.

    Tomorrow is my birthday.

    Word by Word: Tomorrow I-have birthday.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a singular verb with a plural-only noun.

    Dvere je otvorené.
    Dvere sú otvorené.

    Dvere is always plural, so the verb and the adjective must be plural.

  • Treating a plural town name as singular.

    Košice je krásne.
    Košice sú krásne.

    Košice is a plural noun, even though it names one town.

  • Counting with an ordinary number.

    Mám dva nohavice.
    Mám dvoje nohavíc.

    Plural-only nouns count with group numbers: jedny, dvoje, troje. After dvoje, the noun is in the genitive plural.

How It Connects

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

Plural-Only NounsLevel 3

Learn This First

Before Plural-Only Nouns, learn Plural Nouns. Plural-only nouns always use plural forms.

Words in This Pattern

nohavicedvereVianoce