Plural agreement neutralises gender
In the plural, one adjective form serves masculine, feminine, and neuter head nouns.
- The adjective still agrees in number and case, but plural endings do not display gender. Noun gender remains a lexical property; it is simply not overt in these adjective endings.
| Singular | Plural phrase | What disappeared |
|---|---|---|
| но́вый дом | но́вые дома́ | masculine marking |
| но́вая кни́га | но́вые кни́ги | feminine marking |
| но́вое окно́ | но́вые о́кна | neuter marking |
Read the model
3.02 · Plural agreement neutralises gender · table 1
но́вый дом · но́вые дома́ · masculine markingно́вая кни́га · но́вые кни́ги · feminine markingMini-check
Use one adjective with дома́, кни́ги, and о́кна. Does the noun lose lexical gender in the plural?
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.