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В нашей группе девятнадцать студентов.

В нашей группе девятнадцать студентов.
There are nineteen students in our group.

Breakdown of В нашей группе девятнадцать студентов.

в
in
наш
our
студент
the student
группа
the group
девятнадцать
nineteen
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Questions & Answers about В нашей группе девятнадцать студентов.

Why is it в нашей группе and not в наша группа?

Because the preposition в (in) requires the prepositional case when it answers “where?” (location).

  • наша группа = nominative (dictionary form)
  • After в, both words must change to prepositional:
    • наша → нашей
    • группа → группе

So:

  • В нашей группе = in our group (correct)
  • в наша группа is grammatically wrong in Russian.
What case are нашей and группе, and what do those endings mean?

Both нашей and группе are in the prepositional case, singular, feminine.

  • группа (feminine noun, nominative) → группе (prepositional)
    Common feminine -а / -я → prepositional -е:

    • школа → в школе
    • комната → в комнате
    • группа → в группе

  • наш (our) must agree with the noun:

    • nominative: наша группа (fem. sing.)
    • prepositional: в нашей группе

So the endings -ей (нашей) and -е (группе) show:

  • feminine gender
  • singular
  • prepositional case
Why is there no word for “are” in this sentence?

Russian normally drops the verb “to be” in the present tense in such sentences.

  • English: There are nineteen students in our group.
  • Russian: В нашей группе девятнадцать студентов.
    (literally: In our group nineteen students.)

The present-tense form есть (to be) is usually omitted unless you want to stress existence or contrast:

  • В нашей группе есть девятнадцать студентов.
    This can sound like: There actually are nineteen students in our group (for emphasis, or contrast with another group, etc.).

In neutral statements, you simply don’t say “are” in Russian.

Why is it девятнадцать студентов and not девятнадцать студенты?

Because after numbers 5 and higher, Russian uses the genitive plural form of the noun.

  • студенты = nominative plural (subject form)
  • студентов = genitive plural

Rules with numbers (simplified):

  • 1 → nominative singular: один студент
  • 2, 3, 4 → special form (genitive singular): два / три / четыре студента
  • 5–20, 25–30, etc. → genitive plural: пять студентов, девятнадцать студентов

Since 19 is in the “5 and up” group, you must say:

  • девятнадцать студентов, not девятнадцать студенты
What is the difference between студента and студентов when counting?

Both are forms of студент (student), but with different cases and numbers:

  • студент – nominative singular
  • студента – genitive singular
  • студентов – genitive plural

With numbers:

  1. 1

    • один студент

  2. 2, 3, 4 (except 12, 13, 14)

    • два студента
    • три студента
    • четыре студента

  3. 5–20, 25–30, etc. and also numbers ending in 0

    • пять студентов
    • десять студентов
    • девятнадцать студентов
    • двадцать студентов

  4. For larger numbers, look at the last digit, but remember that 11–14 always take студентов:

    • 21 студент
    • 22 студента
    • 25 студентов
    • 111 студентов
    • 122 студента
    • 131 студент

So in our sentence, девятнадцать студентов follows this pattern.

What case is студентов, and why is it used here?

Студентов is genitive plural.

Russian often uses the genitive after numbers and quantities, especially with 5 and higher:

  • много студентов (many students)
  • мало студентов (few students)
  • пять студентов (five students)
  • девятнадцать студентов (nineteen students)

So in девятнадцать студентов, the numeral девятнадцать requires the noun to be in genitive plural.

Can I change the word order? For example: Девятнадцать студентов в нашей группе?

Yes. Both of these are grammatically correct:

  1. В нашей группе девятнадцать студентов.

    • Very neutral, common way to state “There are 19 students in our group.”
    • Focus is slightly on the location first.

  2. Девятнадцать студентов в нашей группе.

    • Places more emphasis on the number of students first.
    • Can sound like: Nineteen students (specifically) are in our group, perhaps in contrast to some other group or expected number.

Meaning is essentially the same; the difference is focus and emphasis, not grammar.

What’s the difference between в нашей группе and у нас в группе?

Both can translate as “in our group,” but with different nuances.

  • В нашей группе девятнадцать студентов.
    Neutral, straightforward statement: In our group there are nineteen students.

  • У нас в группе девятнадцать студентов.
    Literally: By us, in the group, there are nineteen students.
    Nuances:

    • у нас emphasizes “we/our side” or “with us.”
    • Often used when comparing to others:
      • У нас в группе девятнадцать студентов, а у них — тридцать.
        In our group there are 19 students, and in theirs there are 30.

Both are very natural; в нашей группе is a bit more neutral and less “personal” in tone.

Why is группа treated as feminine? How can I tell?

Группа is a feminine noun. In Russian, many nouns ending in -а or -я in the nominative singular are feminine.

Examples:

  • группа – она (she/it)
  • школа – она
  • комната – она
  • неделя – она

Because группа is feminine, words that agree with it (possessives, adjectives, etc.) must also be in the feminine form:

  • nominative:
    • наша группа (our group)
    • большая группа (a big group)
  • prepositional:
    • в нашей группе
    • в большой группе

That is why you say в нашей группе, not в нашем группе.

When should I use группа instead of класс or курс?

These words are all related to study, but they are used differently:

  • группа

    • Typical at universities, language schools, courses.
    • A specific “study group” of students who attend the same classes.
    • Our sentence is about this kind of group.

  • класс

    • In schools (grades 1–11):
      • the grade level: пятый класс (5th grade)
      • the class as a group of pupils: в нашем классе двадцать учеников (there are 20 pupils in our class)
    • Also means classroom: в классе = in the classroom.

  • курс

    • At university:
      • year of study: я учусь на втором курсе (I’m in my second year).
    • Also: course in the sense of a class or course of instruction:
      • курс русского языка (Russian language course).

So В нашей группе девятнадцать студентов is most natural for a university group or a language group.

How do I pronounce девятнадцать and студентов correctly?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple Latin letters):

  • девятнадцать ≈ dyev-yat-NA-tsyt

    • Stress on НА: девятна́дцать
    • The cluster дц is usually pronounced like ц; it often sounds close to девятнацать in fast speech.

  • студентов ≈ stoo-DYEN-tov

    • Stress on де: студе́нтов (not стУдентов).
    • Final -в is pronounced (though lightly).

Together, the natural rhythm is:

  • В НА-шей ГРУП-пе де-вят-НА́-дцать сту-де́н-тов.