What are the patterns of formation of the plural forms of the nominative case of nouns (agreements or contracts)? Director, accountant and contract in the plural

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 spelling of the same word, heated debates among linguists over the spelling of individual words, a huge flow of literature that has not been reviewed by a competent proofreader, the clogging of speech with inappropriate slang words - this is the true reason for the flourishing of illiteracy. Linguistic 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 plural is “fluctuating”, with variations. 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, at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries, directors were called directors, and professors were called professors. Over the past century, irreversible changes have occurred. Endings in -а (-я) began to reign in common speech and “professional” jargon, and forms in -ы (-и) turned out to be more neutral, more traditional for 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!

• DirectorA arrived large factories, Director A gathered, we wrote a letter to Director Am.
• 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 nominative case plural of nouns masculine-s(s) – -a(s).” 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

Nominative plural endings for nouns

Setting the correct ending for masculine nominative plural nouns often causes difficulty. Selecting ending type (-ы/-и or -а/-я ) is determined by the following factors:

- number of syllables in a word and stress location

a) Monosyllabic words more often form forms in -a/-z : snow - snow, house - houses, forest - forests, variety - varieties .

b) Monosyllabic words can also have endings - s/-s : court - courts, soup - soups, knife - knives, cat - cats . Frequent speech errors are caused by the word cake . The plural of this word is cakes .

c) Two-syllable words with stress on the 1st syllable usually have an ending -a/-z : evening - evenings, passport - passports, voice - voices, bill - bills.

d) Polysyllabic words with emphasis on the 2nd, 3rd, etc. syllables usually form forms on -s/-s : pharmacist - pharmacists, librarian - librarians, computer - computers, engineer - engineers.

Please note that the emphasis in these singular and plural forms is kept in the same place.

Exceptions: cuff - cuffs, sleeve - sleeves .

- origin of the word and its structural elements

a) Words with elements -er/-er have an ending - s/-s : actor - actors, driver - drivers, director - directors, conductor - conductors, etc. These are words of French origin.

b) Words of Latin origin with the element - torus – inanimate (objects) have the ending -ы: reflectors, detectors, refrigerators, capacitors .

c) Words with -tor animate (persons) have an ending -s : authors, lecturers, rectors, designers and ending -A : doctor, director, professor .

- difference in the meaning of words

In some cases the end -s And -A serve to distinguish the meaning of a word:

images (artistic) – image (icons);
farewell (upon departure) – wires (electric);
flowers (plants) - colors (color);
omissions (oversights) – passes (documents);
belts (geographical) – belts (clothes), etc.

There are normative variant forms (i.e. both forms are correct):

bunkers – bunkers
years - years
instructors - instructors
valves – valves (technical term)
tunics - tunics
spotlights – spotlights
sectors – sectors
workshops - workshops

The most frequently used words with one and the other type of ending.

Forms on -i/-s

Forms on -a/-z

Genitive plural endings

When choosing an ending, you should be guided by the following rules:

Masculine

1. All names of paired items have a zero ending: shoe, boot, stocking, trousers, shoulder straps, scissors .

Exception: socks .

2. The names of nationalities are subject to the following rules:

a) words with a base in -n, -r have null endings: Englishmen, Armenians, Georgians, Lezgins, Ossetians, Romanians, Turkmens, Gypsies, Bashkirs, Bulgarians.

Exception: blacks .

b) words with stems starting from other letters have endings -s : Kirghiz, Kalmyks, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Mongols, Yakuts.

Exception: Turk, Buryat .

3. The names of military groups and former branches of the military require the following endings:

a) without numerals they have a zero ending: partisan, soldier, grenadier, midshipman, hussar, dragoon, lancer;

b) the previous types of troops with numerals have endings -s : 10 hussars, 5 midshipmen, 6 hussars, 7 lancers.

4. The names of units of measurement vary:

A) ampere, watt, gram, kilogram, x-ray, coulomb ;

b) amperes, watts, grams, kilograms, roentgens, coulombs .

5. The names of the "vegetables - fruits" group have endings -s : oranges, tangerines, bananas, tomatoes, eggplants.

Feminine

1. Nouns on -lya, -nya have a null ending: waffles, roofs, gossip, nannies, cherries, apple trees .

2. Some nouns have an ending -to her : candles, rakes, sheets .

There are also variant forms: The game is worth the candle , But: There are no candles in the house . However, the word candle is used here in literal and figurative (phraseological) meanings (indicate which).

3. Nouns ending in -ia -th : auditoriums, academies, conservatories.

Neuter

1. A number of names have a zero ending: apples, shoulders, saucers of towels, mirrors .

Pay attention to the shape of the shoulders ( Dress with and without shoulders!)

2. Forms on -th : coasts, outbacks, drugs .

3. There are also forms on -ev : mouths, swamps, upper reaches, lower reaches .

Nouns that are always used only in the plural (without gender) form the genitive case using various types endings:

zero: twilight; days ;

-s : frost ;

-to her : everyday life, nursery, sleigh .

When talking about several (two or more) objects or living beings, we must use the plural noun. The choice of the desired ending depends on the gender of the word and the stem with which the word ends in the nominative case. In some cases, not only the stem of the word is important, but also the last letter.

There are three types of stems in Polish:

1. Hard: b, d, f, ł, m, n, p, r ,s ,t, w, z, k, g, ch/h
2. Soft: ć, ś, ń, ź + j And l
3. Hardened: all digraphs without ch (sz, cz, rz/ż, dz, dż) + s

Since Polish often has alternating vowels and consonants, adding a plural ending can be difficult. After all, in this case you still need to remember which sounds change.

Rodzaj nijaki (neuter gender)

In Polish, neuter nouns are in the nominative plural Always have an ending – a. For example:

Window – window(window - windows );

Pole – pola(field – fields);

Muzeum – muzea(museum – museums).

Thus, we only need to change the last letter in the word. There are no alternations.

However, there are several neuter nouns that deviate from this rule. You just need to remember their forms. For example:

Dziecko – dzieci(child – children);

Zwierzę – zwierzę ta(animal – animals);

Imię – imiona(name – names);

Cielę – cielę ta(calf - calves) and other neuter nouns in –ę ( most often they refer to children of animals ).

By the way, in the Russian language these same nouns are also declined according to a special principle.

Rodzaj żeński (feminine)

In the nominative plural, feminine nouns have the ending — i, — y or — e.

So, ending — i we write in words whose stem ends with soft consonants ć, ś, ź, dź And k, g. For example:

Nauczycielka – nauczycielki(teacher - teachers);

Noga – nogi(leg - legs);

Powieść – powieś ci(story - story);

Gęś – gę si(goose - geese);

Odpowiedź – odpowiedzi(answer - answers).

End — y write after hard consonants(t, d, p, b, m, n, r, ł, w, s, z, f), as well as after the digraphs sz and cz, followed by a null ending . For example:

Szmata – szmaty(rag - rags);

Koł dra – koł dry(blanket - blankets);

Kró lowa – kró lowy(queen - queens);

Kasa – Kasy(cash desk – cash desk);

Szafa – szafy(cabinet – cabinets);

Rzecz – rzeczy(thing – things);

Mysz – muszy(mouse - mice).

End — e have feminine nouns that end in s, ż,dż, ja,ia,nia, sza,rza, cza, ca,ni. Here we are not talking about the base, but about the whole word. For example:

Noc – noce(night - nights);

Podróż – podróż e(travel – travel);

Babcia – babcie(grandmother - grandmothers);

Sesja – sesje(session – sessions);

Dusza – dusze(soul – souls);

(BUT: mysz – muszy, because it has a null ending )

Pralnia – pralnie(laundry – laundries);

Burza – burze(storm - storms);

Ulica – street(street - streets);

Sprzedawczyni – sprzedawczynie(female salesperson - salespeople).

Rodzaj męski (masculine)

Masculine forms of nouns cause the most difficulty. When forming them, you need to pay attention not only to the final sound in the stem, but also to the meaning of the word in the plural.

Masculine words are divided into two groups:

1. Personal-male(corresponds to the pronoun oni - denotes a group of people in which there must be at least one man)
2. Impersonal-masculine(corresponds to the pronoun one - denotes a group of people in which there are no men).

It is often difficult to figure out whether a word refers to a group with men or not.

There is a simple explanation. We check the required word according to two parameters; if at least one of them does not fit, it is an impersonal masculine form.

1. The word is masculine in the singular.
2. The word means a person.

For example, the word ludzie came from the word człowiek and corresponds to two parameters - it is masculine and human. Hence, ludzie– personal male form.

Word osoby is a synonym for the word ludzie, and also denotes a group of people (most likely with men), but it does not correspond to the first parameter (in the singular it is feminine - osoba). Therefore, it is an impersonal masculine form.

Let's take an example when the second parameter is not suitable: word koty derived from the word kot masculine, but does not denote a person. This means also an impersonal masculine form.

Non-personal male form

Letter — i we write in words that end in - k, -g. For example:

Mac – maki(poppy – poppies);

Ró g – rogi(horn, corner - horns, corners).

End — y have words with a solid base:

Pies – psy(dog - dogs);

Kot – koty(cat – cats);

Wyraz – wyrazy(word, expression – words, expressions).

End -e have nouns that are in the nominative case singular end in soft and hard stems, as well as some words in b, p, w(most of them refer to birds, fish and other representatives of the animal world):

Koń – konie(horse - horses);

Liść – liś cie(leaf – leaves);

Koc – koce(plaid - blankets);

Krokodyl – krokodyle(crocodile - crocodiles);

Struś – strusie(ostrich - ostriches);

Kosz – kosze(basket - baskets);

Klucz – cool(key - keys);

Nóż – noż e(knife - knives).

Forms of words ending inb , p , w things to remember:

Ż uraw – ż urawie(crane - cranes);

Karp – karpie(carp – carps);

Gołą b – gołę bie(dove - pigeons);

Paw – pawie(peacock - peacocks);

Jastrzą b – jastrzę bie(hawk - hawks);

Żół w – żół wie(turtle – turtles);

Jedwab – jedwabie(silk - silk).

Pay attention! Here the hard final consonant alternates with a soft one.

Moreover, the ending -e has a small group of words in – ans: financial, romance. Although in Polish speech one can often hear the forms finance, romansy.

Personal-male form

These words can also have the ending - i, — y, or — e. Plus, there is a small list of nouns that in the plural nominative case end in — wie.

End -i we write if the word in the singular has a solid basis. In this case, alternation (alternation) occurs: t//ci, d//dzi,ch// si, st//ś ci.

Student – students(student – ​​students);

Są siad – są siedzi(neighbor - neighbors);

Mnich – mnisi(monk - monks)

Francuz – Francuzi(French - French).

End -y have words that in the nominative singular case end in k, r,g,ec,. At the same time k//c, r//rz,g// dz.

Gó rnik – gó rnicy(miner – miners);

Aktor – aktorzy(actor - actors);

Starzec – starcy(elder - elders);

Pedagog – pedagodzy(teacher – teachers).

End -e write after a soft and hardened base . For example:

Lekarz – lekarze(doctor – doctors);

Listonosz – listonosze(postman - postmen);

Nauczyciel – nauczyciele(teacher – teachers);

Kibic – kibice(fan - fans);

Złodziej – złodzieje(thief - thieves);

Gość – goście(guest – guests).

In addition, the endings —e have words on -an, -anin: Amerykanie, Rosjanie, Cyganie.

End -owie have words denoting the degree of relationship, prestigious and honorary positions, ranks, titles, as well as some nationalities:

Syn – synowie(son - sons);

Arab – Arabowie(Arab - Arabs);

Pan – panowie(man, owner – men, owners);

Kró l – kró lowie(king - kings).

It should also be taken into account that in the Polish language there are words that have two equal forms in the plural:

Profesor – profesorowie/profesorzy(professor - professors);

Dyrektor – dyrektorowie/dyrektorzy(director – directors);

Reżyser – reżyserowie/reżyserzy(director – directors);

Kró l – kró lowie/ kró le(king – kings (in cards));

Geolog – geolodzy/geologowie(geologist - geologists);

Burmistrz – burmistrze/burmistrzowie(burgist - bailiffs);

Rektor – rektorzy/rektorowie(rector – rectors);

Senator – senatorzy/senatorowie(senator – senators).

The point is that the language is trying to get rid of the ending –owie, therefore, words denoting the degree of relationship, rank, titles, etc., acquire an ending depending on the sound of the stem.

Some masculine words in the nominative singular case end in a vowel -A. Such plural nouns have the ending -i or- y. In this case, alternation also occurs:

Męż czyzna – męż czyź ni(man – men);

Dentysta – dentyś ci(dentist – dentists);

Artista – artyś ci(artist, artist - artists, artists).

And this is not all the difficulties that can be encountered when forming plural forms. It is also necessary to remember words that do not obey the above rules:

Rock – lata(year – years/years);

Człowiek – ludzie(person - people);

Brat – bracia(brother – brothers);

Ksiądz – księża(priest - priest);

Książę – książęta (prince, prince – princes, princes);

Ręka – ręce (hands – hands);

Oko - oczy (eye – eyes);

Ucho – uszy (ear – ears);

BUT: Oka(loops, cells), ucha(eyes on a needle).

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:

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).

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 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 a 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 requires experienced workers (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 the Borodino 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

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