Breakdown of Даже если эти цветы дорогие, я куплю две синие орхидеи и три белые гвоздики.
и
and
я
I
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
белый
white
синий
dark blue
дорогой
expensive
три
three
две
two (f)
купить
to buy (perfective)
даже
even
цветы
flowers
если
if
гвоздика
carnation
орхидея
orchid
Questions & Answers about Даже если эти цветы дорогие, я куплю две синие орхидеи и три белые гвоздики.
Why are the adjectives синие and белые in the nominative plural, while the nouns орхидеи and гвоздики are in the genitive singular?
This is the specific rule for adjectives modifying feminine nouns after the numbers 2, 3, and 4. In the Nominative or inanimate Accusative cases, the feminine noun takes the genitive singular, but the adjective takes the nominative plural. If these were masculine or neuter nouns, the adjectives would be in the genitive plural instead.
The phrase is the direct object of куплю, so shouldn't it be in the accusative case?
It is in the accusative! However, for inanimate objects like flowers, the Accusative forms of the numbers 2, 3, and 4—along with the adjectives and nouns attached to them—are identical to their Nominative forms. If you were buying animate objects (like animals), the phrase would use the animate Accusative, which looks like the Genitive.
Why do орхидеи and гвоздики end in -и here? Are they just in the nominative plural?
They look like the nominative plural, but grammatically they are in the genitive singular, which is required after the numbers 2, 3, and 4. Орхидея changes its -я to -и. Гвоздика changes its -а to -и because of the 7-letter spelling rule that forbids writing -ы after the letter к.
Could I use хотя instead of даже если here?
You could, but it changes the nuance. Даже если (even if) treats the high price as a hypothetical or future condition—you might not know the price yet, but you will buy them regardless. Хотя (although/even though) would imply that you already know for a fact that they are expensive.
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