Stress and the sound of plural endings
Plural stress may stay on the stem or move; ending choice and stress must be learned together.
- Unstressed written о is reduced in standard pronunciation, and unstressed я/е after a soft consonant can sound more [i]-like. Preserve the spelling while saying the stressed syllable clearly.
- Minimum dictionary record: Write до́м - дома́ and окно́ - о́кна, not merely дом - дома and окно - окна. The accent contrast is part of the paradigm.
| Pattern | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| stable stem stress | кни́га | кни́ги |
| moves to plural ending | го́род | города́ |
| moves to plural ending | до́м | дома́ |
| moves from ending to stem | окно́ | о́кна |
| plural ending stressed | мо́ре | моря́ |
Mini-check
1. Place stress: plural of го́род; plural of окно́. 2. Which letter is never unstressed?
Apply this next
- Retrieve the rule without looking, then continue to the next lesson.