Breakdown of Четверо приятелей гуляют в парке.
парк
park
в
in / to (direction)
гулять
to walk
четверо
four (collective)
приятель
buddy
Questions & Answers about Четверо приятелей гуляют в парке.
Why use четверо instead of the regular number четыре?
Четверо is a collective numeral. In Russian, collective numerals are highly preferred when talking about small groups of men, male friends, or mixed-gender groups. Because приятель (buddy or friend) refers to people, using четверо emphasizes them as a single, cohesive group doing something together.
What case is приятелей in?
It is in the Genitive plural. Whenever you use a collective numeral like двое, трое, or четверо as the subject of a sentence, the noun that follows it must be in the Genitive plural.
How exactly does the dictionary form приятель change to приятелей here?
Приятель is a masculine noun that ends in a soft sign (-ь). For masculine nouns ending in a soft sign, you form the Genitive plural by dropping the soft sign and adding -ей.
Why is the verb гуляют plural? Don't phrases with numbers usually take a singular verb?
While phrases starting with numbers can sometimes take a singular neuter verb in Russian, there is a strong exception for active people. When the subject is animate (living people) and they are actively performing an action together, the verb is almost always plural. Since these four buddies are actively taking a walk, гуляют takes the plural form.
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