Collective nouns are used with common nouns. Collective numbers (examples)

Online Spelling Guide,
pronunciation, literary editing

A Guide to Spelling and Literary Editing
Rosenthal D.E.

§ 167. The use of collective numbers

1. Collective numerals two, three, four (other numerals of this type are rarely used; cf. the usual five days instead of “five days”) are combined:

1) with masculine and common nouns that name persons: two friends, three orphans;
- 2) with nouns that have only plural forms: two sledges, three scissors, four days;

- 3) with nouns children, guys, people, with a noun person in the meaning of "man": two children, three guys, three young people, four strangers;
- 4) with personal pronouns we you they; there are two of us, three of you, there were five of them.

Collective numerals are used in the meaning of substantiated numerals: two entered, three in gray overcoats; seven do not wait for one.

In colloquial and colloquial speech, the range of compatibility of collective numerals is wider. They match:

A) with the names of females, for example: The Zinenkov family consisted of a father, mother and five daughters (Kuprin); He would not have had enough money to educate numerous children - five girls and three sons (Paustovsky); I went to the [military] school to ease the worries of my father, who had three more of my sisters (V. Peskov). As examples show, such use is more common in the forms of indirect cases, less often in the form of the nominative case, for example: Three women in the house (G. Nikolaeva); combinations such as "three dressmakers", "four students", etc. not recommended even in colloquial speech;
- b) with the names of animal cubs, for example: two cubs, three puppies;
- c) with the names of paired items, for example: two mittens, three boots in the meaning of "so many pairs"; the combination of two trousers is normative (and not “two pairs of trousers”, which evokes the idea of four items, since trousers are counted not in pairs, but in pieces); combinations of a pair of trousers, a pair of scissors are colloquial;
- d) with other words in stylized speech: Three border guards. Six eyes and a motor boat (Bagritsky); three horses (Paustovsky).

2. With synonymy, constructions with quantitative and collective numerals such as two friends - two friends, one of the options can be selected.

The use of collective numbers is preferred:

1) with substantiated masculine adjectives: two passers-by, three sick, four escorts;
- 2) with masculine nouns ending -a: two men, three boys.

In some cases, on the contrary, collective numerals are not used, as they introduce a reduced connotation of meaning, for example: two professors, three generals (not “two professors”, “three generals”).

3. In combination with animate nouns, collective numerals are used both in the nominative and in oblique cases: three children, mother of three children.

In combination with inanimate nouns, as a rule, only the nominative-accusative case is used: two sledges, three scissors, four days. In indirect cases, the forms of the corresponding cardinal numbers are used: to two sledges, with three scissors, about four days.

At the word watch (device), a collective numeral is used (one watch, two hours) or the word piece is added (five watches are missing). The expression "a couple of hours" is colloquial.

In Russian, there is such a type of numeral as a collective numeral. Most often in speech they are combined with nouns, but there are certain rules for their interaction with other parts of speech. This article describes these rules in detail, provides illustrative examples.

Quantitative numbers are divided into collective, integer and fractional digits. Examples of collective numbers: three, seven, ten, etc.

Most often, collective numerals are combined with nouns. But there are certain rules for such a combination. Collective nouns agree with the following nouns:

masculine or common gender, which name an animate object and end in -a: grandfather, elder, man etc. ( three men, two grandfathers);
with other masculine endings: guy, surgeon, professor and others ( five boys, four sons);
formed from adjectives ( six passers-by, seven invited);
having only plural form ( two points, three sledges);
indicating the number of a group of people ( five kids)
baby animal names seven kids, two kittens);
in the names of paired objects ( two scissors, four boots).

Such numerals are consistent with personal pronouns: three of us, two of them.

Collective nouns are not used:

with inanimate masculine nouns ( two(but not two) tables);
with feminine and neuter words ( two grandmothers, five clouds).

Definition

The study of the section about begins with the third grade and continues throughout the school course. In a textbook on the Russian language, the definition sounds something like this: this is an independent part of speech, which is formed by an incomplete group of words indicating the number and number of objects, as well as their serial number when counting and answering questions which? and how much? initial form numeral - nominative case.

Morphological signs of the numeral

Like other names, the numeral has variable and permanent signs. The former include gender, number and case form, while the others include belonging to the category and type in the numeral naming system. It is these morphological features that are the basis for recognizing this part of speech as independent.

Number digits

By value, all numerals are divided into two categories:

Quantitative. As a rule, words related to this category denote the number and number of objects. There are three types of cardinal numbers: integers ( five, eight, twenty), fractional ( one fifth, three fourths) and collective ( two, both, five). It should be noted that some types of cardinal numbers can be used simultaneously, forming mixed numbers. For example: two whole and three fourths, one whole and one second. Collective and fractional numbers cannot be used together.
Ordinal. Words that belong to this category indicate the serial number of an object or person when counting. For example: fifth, seventh, thirty-third, one hundred and fifty-eighth. As can be seen from the example, such numerals can consist of either one word or several.

Structure of numerals by composition

Depending on how many words the numeral consists of, it can be simple ( one, forty), complex ( sixty, seventy) and composite ( twenty five two thirds). It should be noted that those numerals that are built on the basis of simple ones are complex, for example, five and ten - fifty.

Collective numerals and their signs

Collective numerals are a special group of words that indicate a set of objects or persons. Quite often, schoolchildren confuse simple numerals with collective ones. To prevent this from happening, they need to learn to distinguish. For example: two fishermen- simple numeral; two fishermen- collective noun. This form is formed on the basis of a cardinal number by adding a suffix -o- or -er- and endings -e or -o. For example: two is two, three is three, four is four, five is five, six is six, seven is seven, eight is eight, nine is nine, ten is ten.

Declension of numerals

As already mentioned, one of the inconstant signs of this part of speech is the change in cases. This topic is quite difficult to master, and many make mistakes when declining numbers in cases, even as adults. And the reason for this is the special forms of declension of some words. Each type of numerals is declined according to certain rules:

The declension of collective numbers is done in the same way as in the case of adjectives in the plural.
When changing the case form of a fractional number, the first part is declined as a simple integer, and the second - as an ordinal, standing in the plural.
Cardinal numbers in declension have their own characteristics: the number "one" is declined like the pronoun "this", and the rest of the numbers should be considered by example. It is also worth noting that when declining, all parts of the number are declined.

Declension Examples

Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative	Instrumental	Prepositional
who? what?	whom? what?	to whom? what?	whom? what?	by whom? how?	about whom? about what?
two	two	two	two, two	two	about two
one	one	alone	one, one	one	about one
five hundred and twenty	five hundred twenty	five hundred twenty	five hundred and twenty	five hundred twenty	about five hundred twenty
fourty	magpie	magpie	fourty	magpie	about forty
thousand four	thousand four	thousand four	thousand four	thousand four	about a thousand four
three hundred three	three hundred three	three hundred three	three hundred three	three hundred three	about three hundred and three
four	four	four	four, four	four	about four

It is also worth noting that quantitative numbers such as little, a lot can only be used in the nominative and But the words a little, a lot, a few and How many when used in, they acquire endings similar to plural adjectives.

Syntactic compatibility of the numeral

Another important topic in the section on the numeral is the use of this part of speech. Quite often in everyday life you have to deal with collective numbers, and therefore you should know how to pronounce and write them correctly. And in order to avoid mistakes, one should study not only the declension of numerals by cases, but also a topic that reveals what the collective numeral can be combined with. The noun is the main companion of the numeral in terms of syntactic compatibility. And there are a lot of features that every educated person should know.

The use of cardinal integers and ordinal numbers

If the numeral in the sentence is used in the nominative and accusative cases, then the noun must be in the genitive case. For example: d nine notebooks, twenty roses, five people.

It should also be noted that numbers such as one and a half, four, three and two, combined only with nouns in the singular, and all the rest - in the plural. For example: two notebooks, three roses, four people.

The examples discussed above show syntactic compatibility, which is called control, since the case of a noun depends on the numeral.

Another type of compatibility is agreement, when both one and the other parts of speech are used in the same case. The only exception in this case is the word one, which agrees with the noun in all cases.

When ordinal numbers agree with a noun, they behave in the same way as adjectives. For example: eighth week, tenth day, fourth day. When declining such a numeral by cases, it should be borne in mind that only the ending of the last word changes. For example: one hundred fifty fifth paragraph.

The use of collective nouns

Collective numbers are combined with nouns only in the genitive case. The exception is the word both, in which the companion should only have For example: seven kittens and both friends.

Morphological norms for the use and formation of numerals- these are the rules necessary for building a correctly literary speech, which is necessary not only for written or official communication, but also for informal oral communication. That is why the program USE in Russian includes tasks for the use and formation of forms of numerals. Difficulties may cause changes and declensions of numerals by cases, as well as their compatibility with nouns.

Compound ordinal numbers.

Compound ordinal numbers- these are numerals that indicate the order of nouns, and consist of several words: twenty-first year old, forty-fifth house. When declensing compound ordinal numbers, their last part changes, which, when declensed, takes on forms that coincide with the form of full adjectives: first, first, first, etc.

The rest of the compound ordinal noun remains unchanged for all types of declensions, and any changes to it are considered a morphological error: the twenty-first lunar day - on the twenty-first lunar day.

Compound and complex cardinal numbers.

According to the rules of the Russian language, each part and each word of which compound and complex numerals, declined individually: pay twenty-five rubles. The main part of the numerals is declined according to the third declension, but, as we know, from almost every rule of the Russian language there is exceptions:

In accordance with morphological norms of the modern Russian language, numeral "one thousand" leans not according to the third, but according to the first declension: pay off with a thousand rubles. However, a very typical mistake is when this numeral, like all the others, is declined according to the third declension - thousand.
numerals "one hundred" and "fourty" in indirect cases they have only one form: hundred and forty. But when "one hundred" is part of complex numerals, it declines according to the archaic type: with five hundred, about two hundred.
When compound numbers are used together with animate nouns, only the noun is declined, and the numeral does not change: caught twenty-five butterflies, graze forty-three sheep at the same time.

Rules for declension and the use of collective numbers.

There are several cases in which collective nouns:

With nouns people, children and names of baby animals: seven kids, two kittens, five children.
With nouns denoting the name of males: four brothers, three friends.
With nouns that are used only in the plural form (paired or compound objects): three gate, five days, seven sledges.
With nouns that name persons and have a substantivized type: three people entered the room, today there are two attendants in the class.
With personal pronouns: there will be three of us, five of them will come.
The following phrases are correct: three students and three students. But by no means can you say: three students, although this error is also often found in common parlance.

Fractional numbers.

There is only one rule, without any exceptions - when declension of a fractional numeral all parts change. The numerator of a fraction is declined as a single whole number, and the denominator takes on the appropriate form of an adjective in the plural (as an adjective in the singular, the denominator of the fraction is declined, where the numerator is unit): about two wow tert their, approaching four eat gray umm.

Numerals "one and a half", "both", "one and a half hundred".

Numeral "one and a half" has two generic forms (both masculine and feminine), which are used depending on the gender of the noun: one and a half thousand, one and a half dozen eggs. In indirect cases, this numeral also has the form "one and a half": about one and a half thousand dollars.
The same situation is observed with the numeral "both": both fingers, both countries.
Like the numeral "one and a half", "one and a half" also has special form in indirect cases: about a hundred and fifty guardsmen.

Features of declension of phrases with numerals.

Using phrases "numeral + noun" the numeral in the nominative case governs the genitive case of the noun: three hundred Spartans ruled the country.
At formation of indirect cases The main thing in the phrase is already the noun, and the numeral: kill two birds with one stone.
Numerals "ten", "hundred", "thousand", "million", "billion"" etc. always retain control of the noun in the genitive case: a dozen eggs, about a million rubles.

A noun that does not have a singular number.

When a noun does not have a singular form (scissors, day, etc.), it is often difficult to form numeral form, more than 20, which would correctly agree with such a numeral: forty-three days? forty-three days? How to say right? The correct option would be: forty three days. Only numerals ending in one or five are combined with such nouns: twenty one days. In order to indicate the number of other collective nouns (for example, scissors, shorts, eyes), you can use the word "thing" or "pair": forty-eight pairs of eyes, twenty-two pairs of shorts, seven pieces of scissors.

The use of the number of nouns in the names of numerals.

If a numeral denotes a quantity up to five, then the noun is used in the singular: three boilers, one nail. When the number that denotes a numeral equals or exceeds five, then the noun is already used in the plural: five floors, eight trees.
Numerals "one and a half" and "one and a half" requires in the nominative and accusative case a noun in the singular, and in the remaining cases - in the plural: one and a half dozen - one and a half dozen.

Features of the use of designation of dates.

Only one rule applies here - the numeral always governs the genitive case of the noun : by the twentieth of March (not March), the thirteenth of July (not July).

The difficulty in using collective numbers is that they may not combine with all nouns. They are used with the following groups of words:

1. With animate nouns denoting only males: "three soldiers", "seven friends", as well as nouns of the general gender, when they again refer to a male: two orphans. Collective numerals are not used to designate females, therefore it is incorrect: "Three links were created with three milkmaids in each, of which two (correctly: two) work and one rests" (Red sign); "Here, three (correctly: three women) women appeared from the alley" (Len. Zn.).

2. With animate nouns naming baby animals; "a wolf and seven kids", "four cubs". But only quantitative numbers are used to designate adult animals: "two bears", "six deer". Therefore, it is incorrect: "Two buffaloes (followed: two buffaloes) seem to have calmed down" (A peer).

In these cases, it is possible to designate the indicated nouns in parallel both with the help of collective and with the help of quantitative numerals: "two friends" - "two friends", "seven kids" - "seven kids". Exceptions are:

a) masculine nouns ending in -a: man, servant; only collective numerals are used with them (wrong: "two men", "two servants");

b) animate masculine nouns denoting high government positions, academic titles, etc.: president, marshal, professor, especially when they are used in an official style of speech. With these words, on the contrary, it is not recommended to use collective numerals, since the latter have a connotation of colloquialism; in such cases only cardinal numbers are possible: "two presidents", "seven marshals", "five professors".

Only collective numerals are combined with the following groups of words:

with inanimate nouns that do not have a singular form: two scissors, five sledges, three bags;

with nouns denoting paired objects: two stockings, three boots. Parallel combinations of these words with numerals two, three, etc. indicate a different number of items: two stockings are two pairs of stockings, and two stockings are two separate items;

with personal pronouns: "There were only three of us left";

when using a numeral as a subject: "One with a bipod, seven with a spoon", "Seven do not wait for one";

with nouns children, guys: "I have two children."

Rakhmanova L.I., Suzdaltseva V.N. Modern Russian language. - M, 1997.