Breakdown of Сегодня у врача двадцать пациентов.
врач
doctor
у
at, by
сегодня
today
двадцать
twenty
пациент
patient
Questions & Answers about Сегодня у врача двадцать пациентов.
Why do we use пациентов instead of the regular plural пациенты?
Because of the number! In Russian, quantities ending in 5 through 20 (as well as numbers ending in 0 like 30, 40, etc.) require the noun that follows to be in the Genitive plural case. Since the number here is двадцать (twenty), we must use the Genitive plural form пациентов.
How do we form the Genitive plural пациентов from the dictionary word?
The dictionary form is пациент, which is a masculine noun ending in a hard consonant (т). To make it Genitive plural, you simply add the standard masculine ending -ов, resulting in пациентов.
Why does the sentence use у врача to mean 'the doctor has'?
Russian doesn't commonly use a direct translation for the verb 'to have.' Instead, it uses the structure у (by/at) + [Genitive case of the possessor]. So, у врача literally translates to 'at the doctor' or 'by the doctor,' which is the standard Russian way to express possession.
Is врача also in the Genitive plural here, just like пациентов?
No, врача is in the Genitive singular. It comes from the masculine noun врач (doctor). The preposition у always takes the Genitive case, and since we are talking about one single doctor having the patients, we just add -а to make it Genitive singular.
Learn Сегодня у врача двадцать пациентов and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free