обидва/обидві

Both with Gender Agreement

Level 4Sounds Like obidva/obidví

Use обидва for masculine/neuter nouns and обидві for feminine nouns. The noun takes the nominative plural, which sometimes causes a shift in spoken stress.

How It Works

The pattern обидва / обидві is the standard way to refer to a pair of entities in Ukrainian.

1. Gender Agreement (Nominative Case)

2. Noun Government
When using these words in the nominative (or inanimate accusative), nouns take the nominative plural (e.g., обидва столи, обидва вікна, обидві книжки). Note that while the form is nominative plural, the stress often matches the genitive singular (e.g., вікно has the nominative plural ві́кна, but with the numeral it is обидва вікна́).

3. Stress Shift
With обидва/обидві (as with 2, 3, and 4), the noun often shifts its spoken stress. For example, the nominative plural of брат is stressed on the last syllable (брати́), but with the numeral the stress shifts to the first syllable (обидва бра́ти). Similarly, paired body parts often show a stress shift to the final syllable (обидві руки́).

4. Nouns in -ин
Masculine nouns denoting people that end in the suffix -ин (like громадянин) drop this suffix in the plural. However, after 2, 3, 4, and обидва, these specific nouns take the genitive singular form. The correct prescriptive form is обидва громадянина. The collective form обоє громадян is only appropriate if the group consists of both men and women.

5. Adjective Agreement
Adjectives after these numerals show a gender preference: masculine and neuter nouns prefer the genitive plural (обидва великих столи), while feminine nouns prefer the nominative plural (обидві великі книжки).

6. Animate Accusative
For animate nouns, the accusative form is обох followed by the genitive plural (e.g., я бачу обох братів).

7. Mixed-Gender Pairs and Young Animals
For a pair consisting of a male and a female (mixed gender), or for young animals and children, use the collective numeral обоє followed by the genitive plural (e.g., обоє студентів, обоє малят).

8. Pluralia Tantum Restriction
You cannot use обидва/обидві with nouns that only exist in the plural (e.g., окуляри, двері). For these, use the collective numerals обоє or обидвоє, which govern the genitive plural (e.g., обоє дверей, обидвоє окулярів).

9. Oblique Cases
In cases like the Genitive, Dative, or Instrumental, the gender distinction vanishes. Both forms merge into a single paradigm: обох (Gen/Loc), обом (Dat), обома (Ins).

10. Compound Numerals
Обидва/обидві/обоє cannot be used as part of a compound numeral. For example, 22 is always двадцять два, never двадцять обидва.

Examples (5)

  1. Обидва брати працюють у цій лікарні.

    Both brothers work at this hospital.

    Word by Word: Both brothers work in this hospital.

    Here, 'обидва' is used with the masculine noun 'брати' (brothers) in the nominative plural.

  2. Вона тримала чашку обома руками.

    She held the cup with both hands.

    Word by Word: She held cup both hands.

    In the instrumental case, 'обидві' becomes 'обома' regardless of gender.

  3. Обидві сестри прийшли вчасно.

    Both sisters arrived on time.

    Word by Word: Both sisters came on-time.

    'Обидві' is the feminine form, used here with the nominative plural 'сестри'.

  4. Обидва вікна були відчинені.

    Both windows were open.

    Word by Word: Both windows were open.

    'Обидва' is also used for neuter nouns like 'вікна' (windows).

  5. Я бачив обох друзів у парку.

    I saw both friends in the park.

    Word by Word: I saw both friends in park.

    In the accusative case for animate nouns, 'обох' is used for all genders.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'обидва/обидві' with plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum).

    обидва двері
    обоє дверей

    For nouns that only exist in the plural (like двері - door, окуляри - glasses), you cannot use обидва. Instead, use the collective numeral обоє or обидвоє followed by the genitive plural.

  • Using 'обидва' or 'обидві' as part of a compound numeral.

    двадцять обидва студенти
    двадцять два студенти

    The words 'обидва', 'обидві', and 'обоє' cannot be used as the final element in compound numerals. You must use 'два' or 'дві' instead (e.g., 22 is 'двадцять два').

  • Using 'обидва' for feminine nouns.

    обидва сестри
    обидві сестри

    Feminine nouns require the specific feminine form 'обидві'.

How It Connects

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

обидва/обидвіLevel 4Both with Gender Agreement

Learn This First

To use 'обидва' and 'обидві' correctly, you must first understand Ukrainian noun genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter) because the word changes its form to agree with the noun. Additionally, since 'both' functions like the number 'two', you should be familiar with how nouns behave after the numeral 'два'.

Words in This Pattern

обидва