Lesson 020

The Genitive case with plural nouns

In the previous lesson we learned to form the Genitive case with singular nouns. Today, let’s look at the plural nouns.

Masculine nouns

For masculine nouns ending in …

ж, ч, ш, щ -> add ей
ь -> replace with ей
й -> replace with ев/ёв
ц -> add ев if ending is not stressed, ов if the ending is stressed
… any other consonant -> add ов

дом – домо́в (house)
за́яц – за́йцев (hare)
нож – ноже́й (knife)
край – краёв (edge)
конь – коне́й (horse)
коне́ц – концо́в (end)

Feminine nouns

For feminine nouns ending in …

а -> drop а
… a consonant + я -> replace я with ь
… a vowel + я -> replace я with й
ь or ья -> replace with ей

луна́ – лун (moon)
гра́ница – грани́ц (boundary)
рука́ – рук (hand)
неде́ля – неде́ль (week)
ста́нция – ста́нций (station)
дверь – двере́й (door)

Neuter nouns

For neuter nouns ending in …

о -> drop о
ие -> replace ие with ий
ье -> replace with ий
… a consonant + е -> drop е

лицо́ – лиц (face)
де́рево – дере́вьев (tree, exception)
зда́ние – зда́ний (building)
со́лнце – со́лнц (sun)
жили́ще – жили́щ (dwelling)
варе́нье – варе́ний (jam)
окно́ – о́кон (window) *

* irregular word, the vowel O is added to the stem of the word in plural

Russian Pod 101

Genitive plural memo chart

ending or description how to change examples
masculine
ж, ч, ш, щ +ей нож – ноже́й
ь -ь / +ей конь – коне́й
й -й / +ев (ёв) край – краёв
ц +ев (unstressed) заяц – за́йцев
ц +ов (stressed) коне́ц – концо́в
other consonant +ов дом – домо́в
feminine
a луна́ – лун
a consonant -я / +ь неде́ля – неде́ль
a vowel -я / +й ста́нция – ста́нций
ь -ь / +ей дверь – двере́й
ья -ья / +ей скамья́ – скаме́й
neuter
о лицо́ – лиц
ие -ие / +ий зда́ние – зда́ний
ье -ье / +ий варе́нье – варе́ний
a consonant жили́ще – жили́щ
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Thank you for choosing to learn Russian with us. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post them in the comment. See you in the next lesson!

The offline version of this lesson is available here

Start the quiz
  • Question # 1
    Make it Genitive plural: упражне́ние
    • упражне́ний
    • упражне́ниев
    • упражне́н
    • упражне́нов
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 2
    Make it Genitive plural: стена́
    • стены́
    • стен
    • стено́в
    • стене́й
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 3
    Make it Genitive plural: нога́
    • но́ги
    • ного́в
    • ноге́й
    • ног
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 4
    Fill in the gaps
    У нас мно́го ...
    We have a lot of questions.
    • вопро́с
    • вопро́сев
    • вопро́сов
    • вопро́сей
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 5
    Fill in the gaps
    Э́то сюрпри́з для мои́х ...
    This is a surprise for my parents.
    • роди́тел
    • роди́телей
    • роди́телев
    • роди́телов
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 6
    Fill in the gaps
    В комнате не было ...
    There was no doors in the room.
    • дверёв
    • двер
    • дверей
    • дверий
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 7
    Make it Genitive plural: расте́ние
    • расте́ние
    • расте́ней
    • расте́н
    • расте́ний
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 8
    Fill in the gaps
    Он провел здесь несколько ...
    He spent several days here.
    • денёв
    • дний
    • дней
    • ден
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 9
    Fill in the gaps
    У нас сегодня не было ...
    We did not have classes today.
    • уроков
    • урокий
    • урокей
    • урок
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 10
    Fill in the gaps
    Сколько у тебя ...?
    How many dresses do you have?
    • платий
    • плать
    • платьов
    • платьев
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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4 comments on “020 – The Genitive case with plural nouns”

  1. Deborah says:

    My question is how do I know when ц is stressed or unstressed

    1. Learn Russian Step by Step says:

      Hi Deborah,

      Ц can not be stressed as it is a consonant. Only vowels can be stressed or unstressed, in this case, the vowel in the ending: -ев or -ов.

      Like in the examples:
      – за́яц – за́йцев (the accent/stress is falling on the first syllable, so the ending is unstressed: -ев)
      – коне́ц – концо́в (the accent/stress is falling on the ending, so it’s -ов)

      As you might already know, there is no way to figure out where the accent is falling if you don’t know the word. So the best way is to learn Russian words together with their accents.

  2. Robert says:

    Excuse me Sir,
    The neuter word “де́рево” ends with “о”, so to make its genitive plural one should drop the “о”, but it says its genitive plural is “дере́вьев”. Is this noun an exception?
    Thank you for all this really helpful content!

    – Robert, 14 year old boy

    1. Learn Russian Step by Step says:

      Hello Robert,

      Thank you for your comment.

      Yes, the word дерево is an exception. There are quite a few of them in Russian. We have listed some of them here.

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