Questions & Answers about Я покупаю три банана.
Why is the word for "bananas" банана instead of the plural бананы?
In Russian, after the numbers 2, 3, and 4, you must use the genitive singular form of the noun, not the plural. Since банан is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, its genitive singular form is made by adding "-a", giving us банана.
Does покупаю mean "I buy" or "I am buying"?
It means both! Russian does not have a separate continuous tense like English does. Я покупаю can translate to either "I buy" or "I am buying" depending on what makes sense in the conversation.
Since "three bananas" is the object of the sentence, shouldn't the phrase be in the accusative case?
The phrase is in the accusative case, but for inanimate objects (things that are not alive), the accusative form of the number три is exactly the same as its basic dictionary form. The noun itself, банана, stays in the genitive singular because the number 3 forces it into that form.
Does the number три change if the noun is feminine or neuter?
No, три looks exactly the same for masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns. This is different from the numbers 1 and 2, which do change their forms to match the gender of the noun.
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