Archives for: October 2010, 15

Три

October 15th, 2010 by Don

The most common word for three in Russian is три. If три occurs in the nominative case, then it is followed by the genitive singular form of the noun:

три сына three sons
три дочери three daughters
три письма three letters

However, if you put an adjective between the number and the noun, you don't use the genitive singular. So what form 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:

три красивых сына three handsome sons
три длинных письма three long letters

If you are dealing with feminine nouns, it is usually best to use an adjectival form that copies the nominative plural:

три красивые дочери three pretty daughters

Here are some sample sentences:

На крыше загорали три иностранных туриста. There were three foreign tourists sunbathing on the roof.
У инопланетянина были три жёлтые головы и два красных хвоста. The alien had three yellow heads and two red tails.
Три старых профессора играли в шахматы в парке. Three old professors were playing chess in the park.
У меня три японских телевизора. I have three Japanese televisions.

¹ You will sometimes also encounter три красивых дочери, аlthough красивые is better style these days.

Posted in Numbers | 2 comments »