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### Collective Numerals for People

Russian has a special set of "collective numerals" used to emphasize a group acting as a single, cohesive unit. The most common ones are **двое** (two), **трое** (three), and **четверо** (four).

When you use these numerals to count something, the noun that follows must be in the **Genitive Plural** case.

You will use them frequently to count groups of men or mixed-gender groups, especially when referring to tight-knit companions, roles, or general descriptors like guards, strangers, or buddies. (Note: they are not used for groups consisting only of women).

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### Counting Baby Animals

Collective numerals are also traditionally used when counting baby animals, such as puppies and kittens. Remember to put the animal noun in the Genitive Plural (**щенков**, **котят**).

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### Plural-Only Nouns

Some nouns in Russian only exist in the plural form, such as **ворота** (gates), **часы** (watches/clocks), or **сутки** (a 24-hour period/days). Because these words do not have a singular form, you cannot use standard numbers like **два** or **три** with them. Instead, you must use collective numerals (**двое**, **трое**, **четверо**) to count them.

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Collective numerals (двое, трое, четверо)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

predicative

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative (это)

Noun gender

Soft-sign nouns (-ь)

Subject pronouns (я, ты, он...)

Yes/no questions (да / нет)

Basic interrogatives (кто / что)

Basic negation (не)

Coordinating conjunctions (и / а)

Possessive pronouns (мой, твой, наш, ваш)

Demonstrative pronouns (этот, эта, это)

Adjective agreement

Which and whose (какой, чей)

First conjugation verbs, singular (-ать)

First conjugation verbs, plural (-ать)

Second conjugation verbs (-ить)

Irregular present tense verbs

Adverbs of manner (как, очень)

Locations in prepositional case (в / на)

Prepositional case modifiers (-ом, -ой)

Topics of speech (о, об)

Direct objects (-у, -ю)

Direct object pronouns (меня, тебя)

Verbs of motion (идти, ехать)

Destination (куда, в, на)

Plural nouns (-ы, -и, -а, -я)

Irregular plural nouns (друзья, дети)

Plural adjectives and pronouns (-ые, -ие)

Numbers 1 to 10 (один, два, три)

Possession with pronouns (у меня есть)

Possession with nouns (-а, -я, -ы, -и)

Genitive of negation (нет)

Numbers 2, 3, and 4

Quantities with mass nouns (сколько, много, мало)

Animate direct objects

The past tense of to be (был, была, было, были)

Regular past tense verbs

Time sequence expressions (вчера, завтра, раньше, потом)

Verb aspect in the past tense

Dative personal pronouns (мне, тебе, ему)

Expressing likes (нравится, нравятся)

Absence (нет)

Expressing age (год, года, лет)

Indirect objects (-у, -ю, -е)

Modal verbs (хотеть, мочь)

Reason and contrast (поэтому, но)

Double negation (ничего, никогда)

Reflexive verbs (-ся, -сь)

Polite requests and instructions (-ите, -йте)

Days of the week (в + Accusative)

Compound future tense (буду...)

Simple future tense

Accompaniment (с)

Multidirectional verbs of motion (ходить, ездить)

Greetings and goodbyes (здравствуйте, привет)

Thank you and sorry (спасибо, извините)

Countries and languages (русский, английский)

Meeting people (меня зовут, как дела)

Public transport (трамвай, остановка)

Left, right and the compass (слева, справа)

Places in the city (цирк, зоопарк)

Fruit and vegetables (помидор, огурец)

Post and travel (открытка, чемодан)

Family and relatives (внук, родственник)

Jobs and professions (инженер, продавец)

Sport and games (футбол, теннис)

Describing people (умный, сильный)

Health and the body (болен, здоровье)

The months of the year (январь, февраль)

Accusative feminine and inanimate adjectives (-ую, -юю)

Accusative animate masculine adjectives (-ого, -его)

Short-form adjectives (готов, занят)

Personal obligation (должен, должна)

Professions in the instrumental case

Genitive singular adjectives and possessives

Prepositions of absence and purpose (без, для)

Dative singular adjectives and possessives

Impersonal states (мне холодно)

Impersonal obligation (надо, нужно)

Impersonal permission (можно / нельзя)

Instrumental adjectives and pronouns

Reciprocal verbs (с + Instrumental)

Reflexive possessive pronouns (свой)

Reflexive pronouns (себя)

Specific indefinite pronouns (-то)

Non-specific indefinite pronouns (-нибудь)

Negative pronouns (никто / ничто)

Numbers 11 to 20

Question	Answer
gates	ворота
two (collective)	двое
guard	охранник
Two strict guards stood at the gates.	У ворот стояли двое строгих охранников.
four (collective)	четверо
stranger	незнакомец
Yesterday four strangers entered these gates.	Вчера четверо незнакомцев вошли в эти ворота.
three (collective)	трое
buddy	приятель
partner (workmate, teammate)	напарник
Three of my buddies are looking for new partners.	Трое моих приятелей ищут новых напарников.
I like that two of my partners arrived on time.	Мне нравится, что двое моих напарников приехали вовремя.
puppy	щенок
We had two puppies.	У нас было двое щенков.
kitten	котёнок
Two kittens and one puppy were sleeping in the box.	В коробке спали двое котят и один щенок.
Because of the rain, three puppies and two kittens hid under the roof.	Из-за дождя трое щенков и двое котят прятались под крышей.
The guard said that these three strangers must leave.	Охранник сказал, что эти трое незнакомцев должны уйти.
I have two old watches.	У меня есть двое старых часов.
My partner and I worked for three days without a break.	Мы с напарником работали трое суток без перерыва.
Four buddies are walking in the park.	Четверо приятелей гуляют в парке.