There is no doubt that we use plural nouns in everyday life as often as singular. But how to make the plural form of Ukrainian nouns if we have learned only the singular of the word? In English we create a plural by simply adding the letter ‘s’. In Ukrainian, in the nominative case, we make a plural by using the letters “и”, “і”, “а” or “я” as an ending. These endings depends on the gender of noun and a stem of the word. More about genders in Ukrainian language you can find here.
Let’s figure out how to make the plural form of Ukrainian nouns:
For masculine nouns:
| Endings | Example (singular → plural) |
| add “-и” after hard consonant | студе́нт → студе́нти магази́н → магази́ни |
| add “-і” after soft consonants | лíкар → лікарí |
| replace “-й” with “-ї” | музе́й → музе́ї |
| replace “-ь” with “-і” | хло́пець→ хло́пці |
For feminine nouns:
| Endings | Example (singular → plural) |
| replace “-а” with “-и” | кни́га → кни́ги ру́чка → ру́чки |
| replace “-а” with “-і” after soft consonants | гру́ша → гру́ші |
| replace “-я” with “-і” | ву́лиця → ву́лиці |
| replace “-я” with “-ї” after “і” | Надíя → Надíї |
For neuter nouns:
| Endings | Example (singular → plural) |
| replace “-о” with “-а” | вікно́ → вíкна сло́во → слова́ |
| replace “-е” with “-я” | мо́ре → моря |
| replace “-е” after “ж”, “ч” or “щ” with “-а” | прíзвище → прíзвища |
| neuter words that end in a double consonant + я don’t change to form the plural | пита́ння → пита́ння завда́ння → завда́ння |
There are exceptions in which the ending would be different or even the whole word, for example: Люди́на → лю́ди, дити́на → дíти, річ → ре́чі, ім’я́ → імена́
Always plural (no singular form): гро́ші, штани́, джи́нси, окуля́ри, но́жиці.
Exercises:
№1. Write the plural forms of the following words:
- зошит
- газета
- підручник
- дитина
- будинок
- країна
- місто
- університет
- школа.
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