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Два/две (часть вторая)
The other day we mentioned that the words два/две ‘two’ are followed by a noun in a form that resembles the genitive singular. What's really freaky, though, is that if you put an adjective between the number and the noun, you don't use the genitive singular. So what for do you use? Well, that depends...
If you are dealing with masculine or neuter nouns, then you have to use an adjectival form that copies the genitive plural:
| два новых стола | two new tables |
| два длинных письма | two long letters |
If you are dealing with feminine nouns, it is usually best to use an adjectival form that copies the nominative plural:
| две новые машины¹ | two new cars |
Here are some sample sentences:
| На поле лежали два раненых солдата. | Two wounded soldiers lay in the field. |
| У инопланетянина были два чёрных глаза и один зелёный. | The alien had two black eyes and one green one. |
| Две красивые туристки беседовали за шампанским. | Two pretty tourists were chatting over champagne. |
| У меня два младших брата. | I have two younger brothers. |
¹ You will sometimes also encounter две новых машины, аlthough новые is better style these days.
1 comment
Comment from: Sherwyn [Visitor] 
"You will sometimes also encounter две новых машины, аlthough новые is better style these days."
Aren't we supposed to use genitive singular - новой - with 'два/две'?
Aren't we supposed to use genitive singular - новой - with 'два/две'?
Don responds: although we use the genitive singular of nouns after два/две, we never use the genitive singular of adjectives with them. No Russian will ever say «две новой машины», instead they will say «две новые машины» most often, and occasionally you will come across «две новых машины».
09/07/10 @ 16:40
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