два/три/чотири + Nominative Plural

Nominative Plural After 2, 3, And 4

Level 6Sounds Like dva tri čotiri + nazivnij množini

In Ukrainian, when you count with два/дві (2), три (3), or чотири (4), the noun that follows must be in the nominative plural. This is a major difference from Russian, which uses the genitive singular.

How It Works

This pattern applies to the numerals 2, 3, and 4, as well as compound numerals ending in these digits (e.g., 22, 53, 104).

1. The Last Word Rule:
The case of the noun is determined by the last word of the numeral phrase. If the last word is 2, 3, or 4, the noun follows this pattern. The only exceptions are the numbers 11-14, which follow the rule for 11 to 14 or 5 and above.

2. Case and Stress:
When the numeral phrase is in the nominative or inanimate accusative, the noun takes the nominative plural form. Pay attention to the stress: for many nouns, the stress shifts to match the genitive singular (e.g., for сторінка, the plural is сторінки, but три сторінки has stress on the second syllable).

3. Oblique Cases:
This specific government rule only applies to the nominative and inanimate accusative. In all other cases (genitive, dative, instrumental, locative), the noun simply agrees with the numeral in the plural of that case (e.g., з трьома друзями).

4. Animacy in the Accusative:
While inanimate nouns match the nominative plural, animate nouns (people and animals) require the entire phrase to shift to the genitive case (e.g., бачу двох хлопців). However, for compound numerals ending in 2, 3, or 4, the phrase remains in the nominative plural even for animate nouns (e.g., бачу двадцять два студенти).

5. Gender and Adjective Agreement:

  • два: Used with masculine and neuter nouns. Adjectives with these genders frequently take the genitive plural (e.g., два нових будинки).
  • дві: Used with feminine nouns. Adjectives here prefer the nominative plural (e.g., дві нові книжки).

6. Important Exceptions:

  • Suffix -yn-: Nouns that lose the suffix -ин- in the plural (like киянин) take the nominative plural form without the suffix (e.g., два кияни).
  • Pluralia Tantum: Nouns that only exist in the plural (like двері, штани) typically require collective numerals (двоє, троє) followed by the genitive plural.
  • 4th Declension & Paired Body Parts: Nouns with the -ат-/-ят- suffix (like дівча) and paired body parts (око, вухо) take the genitive singular (три дівчати, два ока).
  • Specific Nouns: The nouns чоловік (when counting people) and друг take the genitive singular (три чоловіка, два друга).

Examples (4)

  1. У будівельника є два брати.

    The builder has two brothers.

    Word by Word: At builder is two brothers.

    Note that 'braty' is nominative plural. The stress shifts to the first syllable, matching the genitive singular, rather than the usual plural stress on the final syllable.

  2. Він бачить трьох друзів.

    He sees three friends.

    Word by Word: He sees three friends.

    Because 'druzi' (friends) is animate, the entire phrase shifts to the genitive case in the accusative position: 'tr'okh druziv'.

  3. Він бачить три великі стадіони.

    He sees three large stadiums.

    Word by Word: He sees three large stadiums.

    For inanimate objects, the accusative matches the nominative plural. The adjective 'velyki' is in the nominative plural, though the genitive plural 'velykykh' is also common here.

  4. Він зустрів двадцять два студенти.

    He met twenty-two students.

    Word by Word: He met twenty two students.

    Unlike simple numerals (2, 3, 4) which shift to the genitive for animate objects, compound numerals ending in 2, 3, or 4 retain the nominative form in the accusative even for animate nouns like 'studenty'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the genitive singular (Russian influence).

    два стола
    два столи

    Learners often use the genitive singular 'стола' because of Russian grammar. In Ukrainian, 2, 3, and 4 require the nominative plural 'столи'.

  • Applying the rule to numbers 11–14.

    чотирнадцять стільці
    чотирнадцять стільців

    Numbers 11 through 19 are treated as a single group and always take the genitive plural, even if they end in 2, 3, or 4.

  • Using 'два' for feminine nouns.

    два сестри
    дві сестри

    The numeral 2 must agree in gender. Use 'дві' for feminine nouns like 'сестра'.

How It Connects

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

два/три/чотири + Nominative PluralLevel 6Nominative Plural After 2, 3, And 4

Learn This First

To learn the use of nominative plural with the numerals 2, 3, and 4, a learner first needs a solid grasp of basic noun pluralization and the nominative case. Since Ukrainian plural endings vary by gender, familiarity with masculine, feminine, and neuter noun categories is also required.

Words in This Pattern

дватричотири