Breakdown of Дайте, пожалуйста, три нежные лилии и две красные ленты.
и
and
красный
red
три
three
две
two (f)
дать
to give
пожалуйста
please
нежный
delicate
лилия
lily
лента
ribbon
Questions & Answers about Дайте, пожалуйста, три нежные лилии и две красные ленты.
Why are the adjectives нежные and красные in the nominative plural when the nouns they modify are in the genitive singular?
This is a special rule for the numbers 2, 3, and 4. While the nouns themselves go into the genitive singular (лилии, ленты), adjectives modifying feminine nouns take the nominative plural form. If the nouns were masculine or neuter, the adjectives would take the genitive plural instead.
Why do we use две for the ribbons, but три doesn't change for the lilies?
The number two has a specific feminine form, две, which must be used here because лента is a feminine noun. The numbers three (три) and four (четыре) do not have separate gendered forms, so три is used for masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns alike.
Are the phrases три нежные лилии and две красные ленты in the nominative or accusative case here?
They are in the accusative case because they are the direct objects being given (дайте). However, because lilies and ribbons are inanimate objects, their accusative phrasing for numbers 2, 3, and 4 is exactly the same as their nominative phrasing.
Is the noun лилии here in the nominative plural or the genitive singular?
It is in the genitive singular. Because the nominative plural of лилия is also лилии, it can easily look like a plural form. However, after the numbers 2, 3, and 4, the noun must be in the genitive singular. We can see this clearly with the second item, ленты, which is explicitly the genitive singular of лента.
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