Questions & Answers about У мачехи есть близнецы.
Since this lesson is about мать, shouldn't мачеха (stepmother) also have an irregular ending like у мачери?
No, мачеха is a standard feminine noun. The special -ер- stem added to the oblique cases of мать (like the Genitive у матери) and дочь does not apply here. You simply decline мачеха like any regular noun ending in -а.
Why does the Genitive form of мачеха end in -и instead of -ы?
The preposition у triggers the Genitive case. Normally, feminine nouns ending in -а change to -ы in the Genitive. However, the 7-letter spelling rule states you can never write -ы after the letter х (as well as к, г, ж, ч, ш, щ). Therefore, the ending must be -и, giving us мачехи.
Why does близнецы end in -ы? Doesn't the letter ц have a spelling rule too?
It does, but it behaves differently! The letter ц is not part of the 7-letter spelling rule. For noun endings after ц, Russian requires -ы instead of -и. That's why the plural of близнец (twin) is близнецы, just like отец (father) becomes отцы.
Does есть change if the things being owned are plural, like the twins here?
No. In the standard у кого-то есть что-то (someone has something) construction, есть remains exactly the same regardless of whether the possessed object is singular or plural. It acts as a static 'there is/are' that does not need to match the number of the things owned.
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