Четверо подписали документ.

Four people signed the document.

Breakdown of Четверо подписали документ.

• документ: the document
• подписать: to sign
• четверо: four people

Questions & Answers about Четверо подписали документ.

Why does the sentence use четверо instead of четыре?

Четверо is a collective numeral, while четыре is the ordinary cardinal numeral four.

In this sentence, четверо means a group of four people. Russian often uses collective numerals for:

• groups of males,
• mixed-gender groups,
• children,
• or when the people are referred to as a group rather than as separate individuals.

So Четверо подписали документ means Four people signed the document.

If you used четыре, you would normally need a noun after it, for example:

• четыре человека подписали документ
• четыре сотрудника подписали документ

Saying just четыре подписали документ would sound incomplete in normal Russian.

Does четверо mean four men?

Not necessarily, but it often suggests a group that is:

• all male,
• mixed,
• or children.

It is not normally used for a group of adult women only. For adult women, Russian usually prefers the ordinary numeral plus a noun:

• четыре женщины подписали документ

So четверо подписали документ could mean:

• four men,
• a mixed group of four people,
• four children, depending on context.

Is there an omitted noun after четверо?