Breakdown of Её сестра купила три розовых пиона и четыре свежие розы.
и
and
сестра
sister
три
three
четыре
four
купить
to buy (perfective)
свежий
fresh
розовый
pink
её
her (possessive)
роза
rose
пион
peony
Questions & Answers about Её сестра купила три розовых пиона и четыре свежие розы.
Why is the adjective розовых in the Genitive plural, but свежие is in the Nominative plural?
This is the main rule for adjectives following the numbers 2, 3, and 4. When the noun is masculine or neuter (like the masculine пион), the adjective goes into the Genitive plural (розовых). But when the noun is feminine (like роза), the adjective usually takes the Nominative plural (свежие).
Why are the nouns пиона and розы in the Genitive singular? Shouldn't they be plural since there are three and four of them?
After the numbers 2, 3, and 4, the noun itself always takes the Genitive singular form as long as the phrase is in the Nominative or inanimate Accusative case. So пион becomes пиона and роза becomes розы. Interestingly, it is only the adjectives that are forced into a plural form in these phrases.
Could I say четыре свежих розы instead of свежие?
Yes, you absolutely can! While the Nominative plural (свежие) is the strict grammatical standard for feminine nouns after 2, 3, and 4, native speakers frequently use the Genitive plural (свежих) in everyday speech. Just remember that for masculine and neuter nouns, you must use the Genitive plural (розовых).
Since the flowers are the direct object of the verb купила, why don't these phrases look like they are in the Accusative case?
They actually are in the Accusative case! However, because flowers are inanimate objects, the Accusative forms for the numbers 2, 3, and 4 (and the words attached to them) are completely identical to their Nominative forms. If the sister had bought animate objects like pets, the numbers and nouns would all shift into the Genitive case.
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