Prepositional plural agreement
After a preposition selecting the prepositional case, every long adjective uses -ых/-их with a plural head.
- All genders share this plural pattern. The noun usually ends in -ах/-ях, making the phrase easier to distinguish from genitive plural.
- Control point: The adjective forms equal genitive plural, but the noun and preposition usually expose the prepositional construction.
3.08 · Prepositional plural agreement · table 1
| Family | Phrase | Profile |
|---|
| но́вый | в но́вых дома́х | prep. plural |
|---|
| си́ний | о си́них моря́х | prep. plural |
|---|
| ру́сский | в ру́сских слова́х | prep. plural |
|---|
| хоро́ший | о хоро́ших врача́х | prep. plural |
|---|
| большо́й | в больши́х города́х | prep. plural |
|---|
Spelling families in -ых/-их
Use the same diagnostic selection learned in genitive plural.
- The absence of a new ending is pedagogically useful: attention can move from form memorisation to preposition meaning and phrase production.
- Control point: Spelling-rule -их is not proof of a true-soft paradigm. Reconstruct the nominative diagnostic forms when uncertain.
3.08 · Spelling families in -ых/-их · table 1
| Diagnostic family | Prepositional form | Example |
|---|
| но́вый | но́вых | на но́вых уро́ках |
|---|
| си́ний | си́них | в си́них моря́х |
|---|
| ру́сский | ру́сских | о ру́сских слова́х |
|---|
| хоро́ший | хоро́ших | о хоро́ших новостя́х |
|---|
| большо́й | больши́х | в больши́х страна́х |
|---|
Location with в
В + prepositional locates people or things inside places, domains, documents, or bounded settings.
- The lexical choice of в versus на cannot be derived from physical geometry alone. Store high-frequency noun-preposition pairs.
- Control point: Preposition choice is lexical-conceptual; case agreement begins only after that choice is made.
- Retrieval checkpoint: Pause and reconstruct the diagnostic forms from the last three lessons without looking, then check what you missed.
3.08 · Location with в · table 1
| Setting | Example | Interpretation |
|---|
| cities | в но́вых города́х | in new cities |
|---|
| schools | в ру́сских шко́лах | in Russian schools |
|---|
| books | в интере́сных кни́гах | in interesting books |
|---|
| conditions | в тру́дных усло́виях | under difficult conditions |
|---|
| countries | в больши́х стра́нах | in large countries |
|---|
Location and setting with на
На + prepositional describes many surfaces, events, institutions-as-activities, islands, and conventional settings.
- Learners gain speed by storing contrasts as destination/location pairs rather than memorising abstract lists.
- Control point: The noun course determines whether в or на is idiomatic. This course makes every adjective agree once the frame is chosen.
3.08 · Location and setting with на · table 1
| Lexical frame | Location | Destination partner |
|---|
| на уро́ках | на интере́сных уро́ках | на интере́сные уро́ки |
|---|
| на рабо́тах | на но́вых рабо́тах | на но́вые рабо́ты |
|---|
| на острова́х | на далёких острова́х | на далёкие острова́ |
|---|
| на стола́х | на больши́х стола́х | на больши́е столы́ |
|---|
| на конфере́нциях | на междунаро́дных конфере́нциях | на конфере́нции |
|---|
Topics with о, об, and обо
Topic phrases use prepositional case; the preposition's shape responds to the following sound, not to adjective agreement.
- О is general, об appears before many vowel-initial words, and обо is restricted to certain clusters/pronominal forms. With an adjective, look at the adjective's initial sound.
- Control point: Select о/об from the next pronounced word. The noun may begin with a vowel but be shielded by a consonant-initial adjective: о но́вых иде́ях.
3.08 · Topics with о, об, and обо · table 1
| Form | Example | Sound environment |
|---|
| о | о но́вых кни́гах | before consonant |
|---|
| о | о ру́сских авторах | before consonant |
|---|
| об | об интере́сных иде́ях | before vowel |
|---|
| об | об изве́стных учёных | before vowel |
|---|
| обо | обо всех ва́жных дела́х | fixed facilitating form |
|---|
Plural-only and invariant nouns
An adjective can reveal case and number even when the noun is plural-only or does not decline.
- Plural-only nouns trigger plural agreement. Indeclinable nouns retain one surface noun form but still have syntactic case, visible in the adjective.
- Control point: Invariant noun shape does not mean 'no case'. Syntax assigns case, and agreeing words can display it.
- Retrieval checkpoint: Pause and reconstruct the diagnostic forms from the last three lessons without looking, then check what you missed.
3.08 · Plural-only and invariant nouns · table 1
| Head type | Phrase | What adjective reveals |
|---|
| plural-only де́ньги | о больши́х де́ньгах | prep. plural |
|---|
| plural-only брю́ки | в но́вых брю́ках | prep. plural |
|---|
| plural-only ка́никулы | на ле́тних кани́кулах | prep. plural |
|---|
| indeclinable такси́ | в но́вых такси́ | plural inferred from adjective |
|---|
| indeclinable СМИ | о ру́сских СМИ | plural agreement |
|---|
Irregular noun plurals remain local
The adjective is predictable even when the noun has a special plural stem or ending.
- Pronounce the entire phrase and keep lexical stress on both words; plural oblique noun stress may differ from the dictionary form.
- Control point: Use two retrieval links: adjective family → -ых/-их; noun lexeme → its prepositional plural.
3.08 · Irregular noun plurals remain local · table 1
| Noun family | Phrase | Focus |
|---|
| челове́к — лю́ди | о хоро́ших лю́дях | suppletive plural |
|---|
| ребёнок — де́ти | о ма́леньких де́тях | suppletive plural |
|---|
| друг — друзья́ | о ста́рых друзья́х | plural stem |
|---|
| и́мя — имена́ | о ру́сских имена́х | -мя pattern |
|---|
| мо́ре — моря́ | в си́них моря́х | stress moves in the plural |
|---|
Destination versus location in the plural
В/на + accusative answers куда́?; в/на + prepositional answers где?
- For inanimate plural destinations, accusative adjectives look nominative (-ые/-ие). Location adjectives use -ых/-их and nouns use -ах/-ях.
- Control point: Translate the relationship, not the English preposition alone. Russian encodes endpoint versus stable location through case.
3.08 · Destination versus location in the plural · table 1
| Question | Construction | Example |
|---|
| куда́? | accusative destination | е́дем в но́вые города́ |
|---|
| где? | prepositional location | живём в но́вых города́х |
|---|
| куда́? | accusative placement | кладу́ на высо́кие по́лки |
|---|
| где? | prepositional position | кни́ги на высо́ких по́лках |
|---|
Distinguishing identical adjective forms
Forms in -ых/-их require construction-level analysis because they occupy several paradigm cells.
- The head noun often supplies decisive evidence: книг has genitive plural shape, кни́гах prepositional plural, and animate студе́нтов may be genitive or accusative depending on the governor.
- Control point: Syncretism is normal economy in the language. Accurate parsing comes from combining morphology with syntax and meaning.
- Retrieval checkpoint: Pause and reconstruct the diagnostic forms from the last three lessons without looking, then check what you missed.
3.08 · Distinguishing identical adjective forms · table 1
| Phrase | Case | Evidence |
|---|
| без но́вых книг | genitive plural | без + книг |
|---|
| о но́вых кни́гах | prepositional plural | о + кни́гах |
|---|
| ви́жу но́вых студе́нтов | accusative plural | direct animate object |
|---|
| нет но́вых студе́нтов | genitive plural | нет |
|---|
Prepositional plural assessment
Build regular -ых/-их forms, then prove each case from its governor and head noun.