The Genitive Plural for Quantities
When you talk about quantities of five or more (including words like миллион), or use words like много (a lot), the noun that follows must be in the genitive plural.
For most masculine nouns ending in a hard consonant, simply add -ов to the end of the word. For example, доллар becomes долларов, and студент becomes студентов.
| I have five dollars. | У меня есть пять долларов. |
| A million students live in the city. | В городе живёт миллион студентов. |
| There were many passengers in the bus. | В автобусе было много пассажиров. |
Collections and Containers
The genitive plural is also essential when talking about groups, collections, or containers. Where English uses "of" (like a "group of" or a "box of"), Russian simply puts the second noun into the genitive case.
| Do you have a list of passengers? | У вас есть список пассажиров? |
| A group of passengers is waiting for the train. | Группа пассажиров ждёт поезд. |
| He bought a bag of tomatoes. | Он купил пакет помидоров. |
| We bought a box of cucumbers. | Мы купили ящик огурцов. |
Fleeting Vowels
Watch out for masculine nouns that have a "fleeting vowel"—an о or е in the last syllable that drops out when a case ending is added. For example, носок (sock) drops its о and becomes носков before the genitive plural suffix.
| I need a pair of socks. | Мне нужна пара носков. |
Nouns Ending in -й
If a masculine noun ends in the soft consonant -й, you cannot add the hard -ов ending. Instead, drop the -й and add -ев. For example, герой (hero or character) becomes героев.
| There are many heroes in this novel. | В этом романе много героев. |