Professor plural nominative accent. Nominative plural of nouns

The state of language culture in modern Russia leaves much to be desired. And the reason for this is not an orientation towards Western culture or a lack of desire for reading, as the media lament.

A wide range of dictionaries in which you can find different spellings of the same word, heated debates among linguists over spelling individual words, a huge flow of literature that has not been processed by a competent proofreader, clogging speech with inappropriate slang words- Here the real reason prosperity of illiteracy. Language norms exist not for their own sake, but, first of all, so that people understand each other, avoid ambiguity and, finally, preserve the national linguistic wealth.

How often in offices can you hear ringing instead of ringing, catalog instead of catalogue, etc. Moreover, more and more often interlocutors are beginning to think about the pronunciation of words in the plural: director or directors, accountant or accountants, agreements or agreements? All this is slowly but surely shaking the traditional literary norms of the Russian language and leading to a general decline in culture.

In modern Russian there are approximately 300 words in which the nominative case plural– “fluctuating”, with options. Moreover, the norm of stress in some words has changed over time, reflecting the development of the system of declensions of Russian nouns. So, for example, in late XIX– at the beginning of the 20th century, directors were called directors, and professors were called professors. During the last century, irreversible changes have occurred. Endings with -а (-я) began to reign in common speech and “professional” jargon, and forms with -ы (-и) turned out to be more neutral, more traditional for the literary language (editors, instructors, proofreaders). But do not forget that there are exceptions to all rules.

Directors, contracts, accountants - these are the norms that have become the ONLY POSSIBLE ones!

  • The directors of large factories arrived, the directors gathered, we wrote a letter to the directors.
  • Our company has concluded agreements.
  • The accountants calculated the estimate, etc.

The spelling (ending and stress) of the words director, accountant, contract, etc. is subject to the rule “Endings of the nominative plural of masculine nouns -ы(-и) – -а(-я)”. This rule is quite complicated. If the ending -or/-er/-er is stressed, then it is often preserved in the plural form, i.e. gives -ers, -ors: contracts, drivers, gliders, engines, fences, engineers, gentlemen. In other cases, nouns, especially animate ones, with -or/-er in the plural have a strong tendency to shift the emphasis to the ending: doctor, cadet, boat, etc. But there are also a lot of opposite examples, in particular, accountants, coaches, etc. In addition, there are a number of factors that directly influence the spelling of one or another ending in a word. All this is described in detail (with numerous examples) in spelling reference books.

However to the common man(for a non-philologist) it will be difficult to form the plural form of the nominative case, guided by the points of the rules. Therefore, take my word for it - it’s better to just remember some words. Otherwise, you can easily “confuse” the desired rule. Better yet, at least occasionally, look into the dictionary.

A little humor

When memorizing, you can be guided by association rhymes:

  • directorA – masterA
  • contracts are thieves
  • accountants - planners

1. Grams/kilograms. The most painful question related to the plural. In the journalistic team they will definitely correct you if they hear the form of “gram”: “That’s right, “gram”!” However, in fact, forms with zero endings - gram and kilogram - have long been acceptable (like neuter coffee) in colloquial speech. In the academic “Grammar of the Russian Language” of 1952 (!), the form “gram/kilogram” is generally indicated as the only form. So you can safely ask for a hundred grams of sausage. True, if you are giving a public speech, you write official document or a journalistic text, it is better to choose a full, more literary form.

But in the expression “front-line hundred grams”, nothing needs to be changed under any circumstances - this is a stable combination.

2. Georgians, Ossetians, Turks. Remember that nouns denoting some nationalities do not have an ending in the genitive plural. The correct word would be “Georgians”, not “Georgians”, “Ossetians”, not “Ossetians”, “Gypsies”, not “Gypsies”.
Remember the “Turk” option too. “No Turks” is wrong.

3. Socks/stockings. If you can’t remember “stockings” or “stockings” and you also always get confused with socks, refer to the mnemonic rule. The stockings are long, but their ending is short: no stockings. But the socks, on the contrary, are short and have a long ending: there are no socks. This is the easiest option to remember.

4. Pancakes. If you stumble while trying to tell your relatives that you have baked pancakes/pancakes, of course, it’s best to say “pancakes.” But what about those who cannot tolerate diminutive forms? Remember the correct option: pancakes.

5. Tomatoes/oranges/pasta. There are a lot of problems with food names in general. Put macaroni or pasta? Slice an orange or oranges? Throw rotten tomatoes or tomatoes?

Everything is simple with pasta: you need to shorten it to make it more convenient. Correct option: pasta. There is no ending.

With tomatoes and oranges (as well as, for example, apricots) it is a little more complicated. The correct option is considered full: oranges, tomatoes. But in colloquial speech, a form with a zero ending is also acceptable. So you can buy a “pack of orange” at the market and in the store. But remember that the literary norm is still complete!

By the way, there are names of vegetables and fruits whose zero ending is considered unacceptable even in oral speech. You can’t, for example, “weigh half a kilo of banana,” but you can “weigh a couple of kilos of eggplant.”

6. Shoes and manger. The question of “shoes or shoes” and where to put the emphasis there arises quite often. The literary norm is “no shoes,” with the emphasis on the first syllable. The option “NO SHOES” is marked by almost all dictionaries as unacceptable. Although some are acceptable in colloquial speech.

The help service of the Gramota.ru portal recommends using only one option: shoes. The singular number is shoe.

But the word “manger,” on the contrary, has the correct version with “-ey”: Manger. The stress falls on the first syllable.
Remember the phrase: “I left the Nursery without shoes” - and everything will become clear to you.

7. Soldiers/epaulets. Remember the junior lieutenant from Irina Allegrova’s song? “Only two stars fell on his shoulder strap...” But what if they fell not ON, but WITH? With shoulder straps or with shoulder straps?

Here we need to remember the “principle of nationality”; it works exactly the same here. Georgian - Ossetian - shoulder straps.

By the way, the same rule applies to the word “soldiers”. The correct option is: “no soldiers.”

8. Rails. If it happens train accident, then journalists are always confused: some say that the train went “off the rails,” while others say that it “went off the rails.” And here we need to remember the “vegetable rule”. The correct option is the one that is more complete: “The train went off the rails.”

Remember the phrase: “The train was carrying a ton of tomatoes and derailed.”

True, in colloquial speech the option “went off the rails” is acceptable.

9. Carats. When we're talking about about jewelry, dictionaries allow concessions. You can use “karat” or “carats”. Wear it for your health!

10. Donya, sheets, pokers. We will devote the last paragraph to especially difficult cases. I think you have tried more than once, just for fun, to form the plural (genitive case) of the word “poker.” In everyday life, the ability to change the word “poker” is unlikely to be useful, but it still doesn’t hurt to know. That's right - poker.

As for the word “bottom”, the correct option would be the form “bottoms”.

Sheet - sheet.

Here's some advice for you: "Don't leave the sheets without the sheets." This phrase will also help you remember the emphasis.

Unanswered question

It is completely unclear what to do with the modern footwear of the peoples of the world - Uggs. Which is correct: ugg or ugg? Both sound terribly clumsy. Most likely, the “UGG” option is more correct. But if you still want to avoid this difficult choice, say that there are a lot of “Uggs” in the store. Yes, it’s disgusting, but what should I do?

Plural nouns in the genitive case are practically no different from the forms singular: they perform similar syntactic functions and answer the same questions. This article discusses ways to form forms genitive case plural, as well as the most difficult cases.

What is the genitive plural of nouns?

The genitive plural of nouns is represented by case forms of nouns with endings -ov (-ev), -ey, -iy and zero ending. Like singular forms, they answer questions Whom? What?, perform the same syntactic functions and can express subjective, objective or attributive meaning in speech.

Examples of genitive plural forms of nouns: apples, roads, hopes, glasses, tables, corners, trees, leaves, logs, mothers, mice, cases.

Formation of genitive plural forms

The endings of plural nouns in the genitive case in different declensions are shown in the table with examples.

Difficult cases of form formation

When forming genitive plural forms, the 2nd declension often makes mistakes by choosing the wrong case ending.

The following nouns have a zero ending in the plural:

TOP 2 articleswho are reading along with this

  • Denoting paired items (mainly clothes and shoes). Examples: hand, shoe, boot, stocking, trouser leg(Butsocks, rails);
  • Names of large military groups, military branches. Examples: in the meaning of a collective noun – (squad) soldier, hussar, lancer, cadet, partisan, midshipman; but in the meaning of individuals– (three) midshipmen, hussars, cadets;
  • The names of some nationalities are mainly based on -n, -r. Examples: Gypsies, Ossetians, Turkmen, Bulgarians, Khazars etc.;
  • Names of some units of measurement. Examples: arshin, volt, watt, newton, hertz etc. ( But carats - carat, grams - grams, ohms - ohms, microns - microns etc.);
  • Words based on -tsa. Examples: hearts, rings, saucers, tentacles.

Endings -ov(s) in R. p. plural. numbers have nouns:

oranges, tomatoes, apricots, tangerines, bananas, eggplants, tomatoes, jeans, canned food, comments, socks, rails

And also some names of nationalities.

Directors or directors?

In the modern Russian literary language, variants fluctuating in the form nominative plural, number over 300 words. The source of the end propagation -a(s) are the spheres of vernacular and professional language. In this regard, the forms on -a(s) They often have a colloquial or professional coloring: contract, mechanic, turner. The forms are on -s(s) more neutral and for most words meet the usual norms of literary language. But in some cases the forms on -a(s) have already replaced forms with -s(s).

To resolve the issue of the “controversial” form of a word, you need to consult a dictionary. Apart from this, it is possible to understand a number of patterns, facilitating the choice of the ending of the nominative plural:

  • Declined neuter nouns whose original form ends in -KO have unstressed plural ending im.p. -And : faces, feathers, apples, bellies. The exception is nouns with drums plural endings: troops And clouds.
  • Other neuter nouns in the plural form. have an ending -a(s): swamps, fields, seas, windows.
  • Form on -a(s) for some words it may be the only or predominant: side - sides (sides only in phraseological combination hands on hips); century - centuries (eyelids only in phraseological combinations for once, forever and ever, forever and ever), eye - eyes, meadow - meadows, fur - furs, snow - snow, haystack - haystacks, silk - silk.
  • Forms may have different meaning: tones(about color) and tones(about sound) bread(about cereals) and breads(about baked bread) workshops And workshops(at the enterprise) and workshops(medieval organizations of artisans).
  • Forms of nouns can differ in stylistic coloring: sides and outdated sides; monastery and outdated houses; stern and outdated stern; horns both outdated and poetic horns; varieties and outdated varieties; volumes and outdated volumes, Also thunder and poetic thunder; coffins and poetic coffin
  • After all, the forms of nouns can be equivalent and interchangeable: year And years(however: years of youth, languid deprivation; nineties, zero years), workshops And workshops(at the enterprise), storms And storms.
  • Unusual plurals appear in words child - children, person - people, bottom - donya and some others.

    See more details: Endings and variant endings in the nominative plural of nouns ( hl would - bread, omissions - omissions etc.).

    How to correctly check the ending of a noun using a dictionary

    The nominative plural form of nouns is checked in the dictionary (for example, see the “Word Check” section on the gramota.ru portal).

  • The search for a word in dictionaries is carried out using its original form (nominative case, singular).
  • The first mark in the dictionary entry after the noun is an indication of the gender ending. units;
  • In that case, further in the article there are no special indications of the plural form (i.e. there is no mark pl.), then to form the shape im.p. plural ending is used -And or -s.
  • In this case, a different ending is required (or options are acceptable), then the appropriate mark is placed: pl. -A or pl. -I .
  • Dictionary entry

    How to read marks after a noun

    director, -A, pl.-a, -ov

    Form gen.p. units - director; correct form im.p. plural - director, b.p. plural - directors

    locksmith, -I, pl.-and, -ey and -I, -ey

    Form gen.p. units - sary; correct forms of im.p. plural - sl sari And locksmith,kind.p. plural -slang

    cream, -a and -y

    Form gen.p. units - cream And cream; correct form im.p. plural - kr we(since there is no mark, it means the ending is used -s)

    Exercises for the topic “Noun. Nominative plural"

    Exercise 1. Put the nouns given in brackets into the nominative/accusative plural form. Check yourself in the dictionary.

    1. (Engineer) are needed everywhere.

    2. The fishermen (vessel) have not gone to sea for three months.

    3. The (bottom) of the vessels were covered with soot.

    4. (hen) and (chicken) were running relaxed along the country road, and (pig) and (calf) were fiddling around in the dust. 5. At the Historical Museum, I enthusiastically looked at the ancient (guns).

    6. At the border, the border guards very painstakingly inspected our (passports) and luggage.

    7. (Child) often cry at night.

    8. (Citizen), move forward a little!

    9. (Owner) haven’t come in for a long time.

    10. Oil stains stood out clearly on the light jacket.

    11. Ancient (mirrors) hung in the large halls.

    12. (The peasant) always treated the cow-nurse with special tenderness.

    13. The admiral gave the command to raise (the anchor).

    14. (The navigator) of the ships were called to the fleet headquarters.

    15. The Pacific and Northern (fleet) conducted exercises.

    16. (The peasant) received an abandoned (farm) for rent.

    17. (The dispatcher) of the airport decided to start a strike.

    18. The (director) of the factories was summoned to the city administration, but the (chairman) of the cooperatives was not.

    19. (Coach) of the Olympic team - universally recognized (master).

    20. Used (syringe) are placed in special (container) and then destroyed.

    21. Only experienced drivers (drivers) can work on taiga routes.

    22. The (valve) on the gas pipeline was immediately closed.

    23. The plant needs experienced people (accountant, turner, carpenter, painter, security guard).

    24. A weather vane was installed on almost all the roofs of the houses in the fishing village.

    25. Colorful lights (Jupiter) were installed on the sides of the stage.

    26. Everyone (corkscrew) has gone somewhere.

    Exercise 2. Correct errors related to the use of singular and plural nouns. Try to explain the essence of these errors. Check yourself in the dictionary.

    1. Raskolnikov wanted to confess to what he had done, but he lacked the strength and courage.

    2. In the novel “The Master and Margarita” Bulgakov encrypted his views and worldview.

    3. Our factory produces TV sets of the highest quality.

    4. The wife brought a whole tray of teas.

    5. He came to the wedding covered in rags.

    6. The wealthy brother had many cattle, but the poor brother had only one cattle.

    7. They were given the order to immediately surrender all their guns.

    8. The subsoil of the earth is very rich.

    9. My sister and I washed all the dishes, put them in the buffet and began to wait for mom.

    10. I like the profession of a policeman because there are many threats and risks in it.

    11. The boy learned to play all sorts of music on the harmonica.

    12. The guys in the hall screamed and whistled at Barmaley.

    13. I was ordered to take this medicine before all meals.

    14. The swing in our yard is broken.

    15. I wish that for my birthday I would be given a small vice.

    16. Cut the thread with a scissor.

    17. I've run out of ink and I can't write anymore.

    18. We painted the windows with white.

    19. The essay tells an excellent story about the school districts.

    20. Water is also used for economic purposes.

    21. The sky is covered with a continuous grayish cloud.

    22. My friend and I arrived from our dachas on the same day.

    23. This doctor perceives only from preparatory notes.

    24. Drivers carried bread through Ladoga and delivered soldiers to the fronts.

    25. One person cannot do anything here.

    26. Every winter he gets flu.

    27. In the ideas of Tolstoy’s heroes, everything was different.

    28. Heroes of Borodino’s battle, as shown by L.N. Tolstoy, belonged to different social environments.

    29. Incorrect expressions can often be heard in the speeches of children.

    30. At the beginning of the war, our troops were surrounded a couple of times.

    31. On at the moment It’s hard to teach kids the right things to do at work.

    32. The enterprise has organized work on the exchange of experiences.

    Source of material Internet site

  • Chapter “Difficult plural forms of nouns” in the manual “Russian Grammar”. T. 1: Phonetics. Phonology. Emphasis. Intonation. Word formation. Morphology / N.Yu. Shvedova (chief editor). - M.: Nauka, 1980.
  • Exercises for the topic “Endings and variant endings in the nominative plural of nouns”
  • Additionally on the site:

  • What are some mistakes in the use and formation of nouns?
  • What are the features of forming the plural forms of nouns?
  • Where can I find exercises for the topic “Morphological norms of consumption and formation of nouns”?


    • Among the forms of nouns, the formation of which may be associated with certain difficulties, include the plural forms of the nominative case:
    • directors or directors, valves or valves?
    • and the plural forms of the genitive case of some nouns:
    • five grams and five grams, five oranges or five oranges?

    • Director, -a, pl. -a, -ov.
    • director A .
    • Locksmith, -I, pl. -and, -ey and -I, -ey.
    • Correct forms named after. p.m. h. – locksmith And and mechanic I.
    • Cream, -a and -s.

    The correct form is. p.m. h. – cream s


    • Forms on -a, (-i) They often have a colloquial or professional connotation: contract, mechanic, turner.
    • In the modern Russian literary language, variants fluctuate in the form named after. p.m. hours, number over 300 words.

    • Form on -a, -i for some words it may be the only or predominant:
    • side - sides(sides only in the phraseological combination hands to sides);
    • century - centuries(forever only in phraseological combinations for once, for ever, forever and ever),
    • eye - eyes, meadow - meadows, fur - furs, snow - snow, haystack - haystacks, silk - silk.

    • Forms on -s(s) more neutral and for most words meet the traditional norms of the literary language. However, in some cases, forms ending in -а, (-я) have already replaced forms ending in -ы (-и).

    Mn. number of neuter nouns.

    • Declinable neuter nouns whose initial form ends in -KO, have unstressed ending pl. h. them. p. -i (faces, feathers, apples, bellies).
    • The exception is nouns with stressed plural endings. h.:
    • (troops and clouds.)
    • The remaining neuter nouns are in the plural form. h. accept the ending -a(s): (swamps, fields, seas, windows.)

    • Forms may have different meaning: tones(about color) and tones(about sound) bread(about cereals) and breads(about baked bread) workshops and workshops(at the enterprise) and workshops(medieval organizations of artisans).
    • Forms of nouns can differ in stylistic coloring:
    • sides and outdated sides ; Houses and outdated . houses ; stern and outdated stern; horns and outdated and poet. horns; varieties and outdated With unit vectors ; volumes and outdated volumes, and also thunder and poet. G Roma

    • Forms of nouns can be equivalent and interchangeable:
    • Examples:
    • years and years(but: years of youth, severe hardships; nineties, zero years),
    • workshops and workshops(at the enterprise),
    • storms and storms .

    • Non-standard plurals are formed for words child - children ,
    • person - people
    • bottom - donya and some others.

    • For most nouns of the masculine gender, in initial form ending in a hard consonant, for example:
    • orange, tomato, fly agaric, computer, sock,
    • characteristic ending -s in the form genitive plural : oranges, tomatoes, fly agarics, computers, socks, etc.

    • A wide range of exceptions can be identified from this rule - similar nouns, but having the form genitive plural zero ending:
    • Example:
    • one stocking - no stockings
    • one Ossetian - five Ossetians
    • one gram - five grams and five grams

    • Names of people by nationality and affiliation military units , mainly used in plural forms in the collective meaning:
    • Turkmens - Turkmens
    • midshipmen - midshipmen and midshipman partisans - partisans
    • soldiers - soldier
    • This also includes the form p. p.m. h. Human.

    • Names of paired items:
    • Examples:
    • boots - boot
    • eyes - eye
    • cuffs - cuffs
    • shoulder straps - shoulder straps
    • stockings - stocking
    • epaulets - epaulet
    • boots - boots.

    • Names of measures and units of measurement:
    • Example:
    • 220 volts,
    • 1000 watts
    • 5 amperes,
    • 500 gigabytes

    • Titles fruits, fruits and vegetables, representing nouns masculine, in the initial form ending in a hard consonant
    • Example:
    • orange, eggplant, tomato, tangerine ,
    • in the genitive plural form. hours have an ending -s :
    • five oranges, a kilo of eggplants ,
    • New Year without tangerines, salad from tomatoes.

    • Example:
    • dream
    • supplication
    • head