🔢 Russian Numbers with Cases: The Counting Magic

Imagine numbers are like bossy friends who tell other words how to dress!

The Big Idea: Numbers Change Their Friends

In English, we say “one book, two books, five books.” Simple, right? Just add “s”!

But Russian is like a costume party. When numbers show up, the nouns (things) have to change their costumes (endings). Different numbers = different costumes!

Think of it like this: Numbers are party hosts. Each host has a dress code for guests (nouns).

🎯 The Three Magic Rules

graph TD
    A[What number?] --> B{1}
    A --> C{2, 3, 4}
    A --> D{5, 6, 7...}
    B --> E[Noun stays normal]
    C --> F[Genitive Singular]
    D --> G[Genitive Plural]

Let’s break this down with our friend книга (book):

📖 Rule 1: Numbers 2-4 Need Genitive Singular

The Story

Imagine numbers 2, 3, and 4 are like picky eaters. They say: “I want just ONE special portion, please!”

So nouns wear their genitive singular costume.

What Changes?

Real Examples

🍎 яблоко (apple) → два яблока (2 apples)

🐱 кошка (cat) → три кошки (3 cats)

🏠 дом (house) → четыре дома (4 houses)

Quick Pattern

2, 3, 4 = “Give me the genitive singular, please!”

📖 Rule 2: Numbers 5+ Need Genitive Plural

The Story

Numbers 5 and higher are like hungry giants. They say: “I want LOTS! Give me the plural feast!”

So nouns wear their genitive plural costume.

What Changes?

Real Examples

🍎 яблоко → пять яблок (5 apples)

🐱 кошка → шесть кошек (6 cats)

🏠 дом → семь домов (7 houses)

✏️ карандаш (pencil) → восемь карандашей (8 pencils)

Quick Pattern

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11… = “Give me genitive plural!”

📖 Rule 3: Case Agreement - The Full Picture

Numbers Change Too!

Here’s the twist: when YOU use cases (like “with 5 books” or “about 3 cats”), BOTH the number AND noun must agree!

The Nominative (Basic) Case - Just Counting

This is what we learned above:

• два стола (2 tables)
• пять столов (5 tables)

Other Cases - Everything Changes!

When the whole phrase goes into another case, watch what happens:

Genitive (of/from):

• двух столов (of 2 tables)
• пяти столов (of 5 tables)

Dative (to/for):

• двум столам (to 2 tables)
• пяти столам (to 5 tables)

Instrumental (with):

• двумя столами (with 2 tables)
• пятью столами (with 5 tables)

Simple Pattern for 2-4 in Cases

graph TD
    A[2, 3, 4 + Noun] --> B{What case?}
    B --> C[Nominative/Accusative]
    B --> D[Other cases]
    C --> E[Genitive Singular noun]
    D --> F[Both number AND noun<br>change to that case plural]

Example with “два стола” (2 tables):

🧠 The Number-Ending Cheat Code

Numbers 2-4: The “Special Singular” Family

Notice: Only “2” changes! (два/две)

Numbers 5-10: The “Many” Family

These numbers don’t change for gender:

• пять (5), шесть (6), семь (7), восемь (8), девять (9), десять (10)

🎭 Tricky Cases: 11-20 and Beyond

11-20: They Act Like 5!

Even though 12 has “два” in it (двенадцать), it follows the 5+ rule!

• двенадцать книг (12 books) - genitive plural!
• пятнадцать столов (15 tables) - genitive plural!

11-20 = Always genitive plural!

Compound Numbers (21, 22, 23…)

The LAST digit decides the rule!

🎯 Practice Your Understanding

Fill in the blanks mentally:

1. 3 _____ (кошка) = три кошки ✅
2. 7 _____ (собака/dog) = семь собак ✅
3. 2 _____ (дом) = два дома ✅
4. 10 _____ (книга) = десять книг ✅

🌟 The Golden Summary

graph TD
    A[Count Something] --> B{What's the number?}
    B --> |1| C[Normal form]
    B --> |2, 3, 4| D[Genitive Singular]
    B --> |5-20| E[Genitive Plural]
    B --> |21, 31, 41...| C
    B --> |22-24, 32-34...| D
    B --> |25-30, 35-40...| E

Remember This Rhyme:

One is fine, just as is. Two through four, singular bliss. Five and more? Plural’s the score!

🚀 You Did It!

You now understand one of Russian’s trickiest concepts! Numbers in Russian are like traffic directors - they tell nouns where to go and what to wear.

Key Takeaways:

• ✅ Numbers 2-4 = Genitive Singular
• ✅ Numbers 5+ = Genitive Plural
• ✅ In other cases, both number AND noun change together
• ✅ Last digit of compound numbers decides the rule

Keep practicing, and soon this will feel as natural as counting in English! 🎉