dva / dve
Two by Gender
dva stoly, dve ženy, dve autá, but dvaja bratia for men.
How It Works
- dva with masculine things and animals: dva stoly (two tables), dva domy (two houses), dva psy (two dogs)
- dve with feminine nouns: dve ženy (two women), dve kávy (two coffees)
- dve with neuter nouns: dve autá (two cars), dve pivá (two beers)
- dvaja with men: dvaja bratia (two brothers), dvaja študenti (two students)
Women are counted with dve, because žena is feminine. Dvaja is for masculine nouns for men. A few animal words, like pes (dog), can also take it (dvaja psi), but dva psy is always correct.
The noun after two. After dva, dve, tri and štyri, the noun is in the nominative plural: tri stoly, štyri ženy. From five up, it changes to the genitive plural: päť stolov. After prepositions like s, the number and the noun both change, as in s dvoma priateľmi (with two friends). That comes in a later lesson. Tri and štyri have one form for everything except men, who take traja and štyria.
A verb after two is plural: Dve deti sa hrajú. (Two children are playing.) In the past: Dva vlaky meškali. (Two trains were late.)
You also need two for time and age: Sú dve hodiny. (It is two o'clock.) Syn má dva roky. (My son is two years old.)
Examples (6)
- Na stole sú dva poháre.
There are two glasses on the table.
Pohár is a masculine thing, so it takes dva.
- Dve kávy, prosím.
Two coffees, please.
Káva is feminine, so it takes dve.
- Máme dve autá.
We have two cars.
Auto is neuter, so it takes dve.
- Mám dva psy.
I have two dogs.
Animals normally count like things, so dva psy is the usual form.
- Syn má dva roky.
My son is two years old.
Rok is masculine, so it takes dva.
- Sú dve hodiny.
It's two o'clock.
Hodina is feminine, and the verb is plural: sú.
Common Mistakes
Using dva with a feminine noun.
Pracujú tu dva ženy.Pracujú tu dve ženy.Žena is feminine, so it takes dve.
Using dve with a masculine noun for things.
Kúpil som dve stoly.Kúpil som dva stoly.Stôl is masculine, so it takes dva.
Using dva for men.
Prišli dva bratia.Prišli dvaja bratia.Masculine nouns for men take the special form dvaja.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Two by Gender, learn One by Gender. dva / dve continues the gender forms of jeden / jedna / jedno.
Related Patterns
- dvaja / traja / štyriaNumbers for Groups of Men
The special forms of two, three and four for men.
Level 3 - päť a viac + Genitive PluralFive and More
From five up, the noun changes to the genitive plural.
Level 2 - Plural Nouns
The plural form used after dva and dve.
Level 1 - Animate and Inanimate Masculine Nouns
Explains why things and animals take dva but men take dvaja.
Level 1 - oba / obe / obajaBoth
Both works the same way: oba, obe and obaja.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice dva / dve in Bubblegum
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