Breakdown of Он фотографирует пять медведей.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
пять
five
фотографировать
to photograph
медведь
bear
Questions & Answers about Он фотографирует пять медведей.
Why is the word for bears медведей here?
It is in the genitive plural case. After numbers 5 and higher, like пять (five), the noun that follows must be in the genitive plural. The dictionary form is медведь, which is a masculine noun ending in a soft sign (-ь). To form the genitive plural for these nouns, you drop the -ь and add -ей, giving us медведей.
Since he is photographing them, shouldn't the word for bears be in the accusative case as the direct object?
The whole phrase for "five bears" acts as the direct object, so the number пять is technically in the accusative case (which looks identical to its dictionary form here). However, numbers 5 and above dictate the case of the noun that follows them. They force the noun into the genitive plural, completely overriding the accusative case the verb normally requires.
Because bears are living animals (animate), shouldn't the number 5 change its form to match?
This is a very common trap! The rule where the accusative case looks like the genitive case for living things (animacy) only applies to the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. For numbers 5 and higher, the accusative form of the number is always identical to its nominative dictionary form, even if the noun is alive.
Why does the verb фотографирует have a -у- in it when the dictionary form is фотографировать?