2.02 Nominative Plural

Number, regular plural endings, spelling restrictions, stress, and plural stems

Meaning chooses plural

The nominative plural names more than one subject or identifies a set; morphology does not decide how many objects the speaker intends.

Студе́нты чита́ют means 'The students are reading'. Э́то кни́ги means 'These are books'. The nominative still marks the subject or naming form; plural adds a number choice.
Number is semantic: A case environment does not create plural. The speaker chooses one book or several books, except where a numeral or a lexically plural-only noun constrains the choice.

Replace singular -а or -я with plural -ы or -и, then apply spelling restrictions.

After г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, and щ, write и rather than ы: кни́ги, ру́чки, му́хи, лу́жи, зада́чи, кры́ши, ро́щи. This is a spelling rule, not a new plural meaning.
Important exception to the mnemonic: ц does not join that ending rule: у́лица → у́лицы, овца́ → о́вцы. Learn the precise seven-letter set instead of an overbroad 'all hushing sounds' rule.

Most masculine consonant stems take -ы or spelling-rule -и; -й and soft -ь usually lead to -и.

The form учителя́ shows that soft-sign nouns still need lexical plural information: the stem type predicts softness, but not whether a masculine noun selects regular -и or lexical -я.
Dictionary habit: If a masculine plural is not transparently regular, record it with stress: учи́тель - учителя́; го́род - города́.

Most -о nouns take -а; most -е/-ё nouns take -я.

Some neuter nouns in -ко use -и rather than the expected -а: я́блоко - я́блоки. Lexical stress and plural shape belong in the noun's stored bundle.
Do not count letters: ру́жья contains ья because the stem and ending meet; it is not formed by blindly replacing only the final printed letter.

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.

A sizeable lexical group takes stressed -а/-я; the singular ending alone does not predict membership.

Some competing plurals differ by meaning or register: о́бразы 'images/figures' versus образа́ 'icons'; то́ны 'tones/sounds' versus тона́ 'shades/colours'. A dictionary must arbitrate.
Norm warning: Do not generate -а for every profession. Инжене́ры is standard; a guessed *инженера́ is not.

Some plurals add material, change the stem, or split meanings.

These are organised lexical patterns, not spelling accidents. The plural stem reappears in later plural cases: друзья́ - друзе́й - друзья́м - друзья́ми - друзья́х.
Best practice: Learn the nominative and genitive plural together. The pair exposes both the plural stem and the genitive ending.

A few everyday nouns use a different historical stem; treating them as stored pairs is more accurate than inventing rules.

Nouns in -а́нин/-я́нин often lose -ин and take -е: граждани́н - гра́ждане, россия́нин - россия́не. The class is productive enough to recognise but still needs lexical checking.
Frequency first: лю́ди, де́ти, имена́, and времена́ deserve early active mastery because later cases reuse their irregular stems.

Not every noun contrasts one with many in a regular two-number paradigm.

Compare но́вое пальто́ and но́вые пальто́. The noun is unchanged, but agreement expresses singular versus plural. Likewise, one pair of scissors is одни́ но́жницы, not *одна́ но́жница in the standard noun meaning.
Meaning shift: ви́но is a substance; ви́на can mean varieties of wine. A plural form need not mean several identical countable objects.

02.09 Plural-only, singular-only, and indeclinable nouns
Type	Examples	Consequence
plural-only	де́ньги, но́жницы, брю́ки, часы́	no ordinary singular and no singular gender contrast
mainly singular / mass	молоко́, са́хар, ме́бель	plural may be absent or change meaning
abstract mainly singular	сме́лость, информа́ция	plural is restricted or meaning-shifting
indeclinable	пальто́, метро́, такси́	surface noun form stays; agreement shows number

Build the form, then check spelling, plural stem, and stress.

Assessment
Form the plural: кни́га, шко́ла, неде́ля.
Form the plural: стол, врач, музе́й.
Form the plural: окно́, мо́ре, зда́ние.
Give the lexical plurals: го́род, учи́тель, друг.
Give the suppletive plurals: челове́к, ребёнок.
Explain why *у́лици and *кни́гы are both wrong, but for different spelling reasons.
Answers and explanations
кни́ги, шко́лы, неде́ли.
столы́, врачи́, музе́и.
о́кна, моря́, зда́ния.
города́, учителя́, друзья́.
лю́ди, де́ти.
у́лица normally takes -ы after ц: у́лицы. After г, expected -ы is spelled -и: кни́ги.
Ready signal: Continue when you can separate a regular ending, a spelling adjustment, a lexical plural ending, and a genuinely irregular stem.