Recognising masculine nouns
Most masculine nouns end in a consonant, -й, or masculine -ь; nouns referring to males may instead end in -а or -я.
- A zero ending is a real grammatical pattern: дом has a consonant-final stem and no visible nominative singular ending. Do not describe the final consonant as the ending.
| Visible ending | Examples | Learner action |
|---|---|---|
| consonant / zero ending | дом, студе́нт, врач | treat as the main masculine pattern |
| -й | музе́й, геро́й | store the stem as й-related/soft |
| -ь | слова́рь, учи́тель | check gender; ь alone does not decide |
| -а / -я referring to a male | па́па, дя́дя, мужчи́на | masculine agreement, -а/-я declension |
Mini-check
1. Classify: геро́й, дя́дя, слова́рь. 2. What must be checked for a noun ending in -ь?
Apply this next
- Retrieve the rule without looking, then continue to the next lesson.