Syncretism: -ых/-их has more than one job
The same adjective form serves genitive plural, prepositional plural, and animate accusative plural.
- Case is recovered from governor, noun form, animacy, and meaning. This syncretism is useful: later modules reuse a form already mastered.
| Sentence | Case of adjective | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Нет но́вых книг. | genitive plural | нет + книг |
| Мы говори́м о но́вых кни́гах. | prepositional plural | о + кни́гах |
| Я ви́жу но́вых студе́нтов. | accusative plural | direct object + animate |
| Я ви́жу но́вые до́ма. | accusative plural | inanimate copies nominative |
Read the model
3.06 · Syncretism: -ых/-их has more than one job · table 1
Нет но́вых книг. · genitive plural · нет + книгМы говори́м о но́вых кни́гах. · prepositional plural · о + кни́гахMini-check
Identify case: в больши́х города́х. Why is но́вых compatible with three cases?
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.