Collective numerals (examples). What is the collective numeral

Collective numerals, examples of which are constantly found in everyday speech, are practically not used in business documents. And this very concept is conditional. After all, in fact, the collective numeral is a kind of quantitative. But there are differences between these categories.

What do collective numbers mean?

Each part of speech plays its definite role in the sentence. However, collective and quantitative numerals mean practically the same thing. But in their use there is a significant difference. Collective numerals indicate the person, what determines their substantivation. For example: "Who are these three guys ? Surely these three young people have learned many, because they were shot in the famous series! "From the context it is clear that we are talking about guys in the number of three people. Thus, the answer to the question of what a collective numeral is, is this: it is part of the speech that indicates the number of persons in a collection of people. But it is impossible to use them in relation to animals.

Collective Numerals

Examples of such phrases as "two workers", "five kids" or "both boys" indicate not just the number or order of transfer. First of all, these expressions represent a group of certain persons. It is interesting that in the modern Russian language the numeral (collective) is a closed, non-productive, surviving group of words. This phrase should be understood as follows: the language is constantly being transformed and developing. However, this branch remains unchanged, preserving the traditional historical appearance.

Collective Numerical Groups

1. A special item stands out for the numeral both (both). It will be discussed separately.
2. By the ways of education, the words "two" and "three" stand out. Their roots are the corresponding quantitative numbers two and three . They are formed with the participation of the suffix -oe .
3. A broader group consists of collective numerals four, five and so on, up to ten. They are formed with the suffix -ep- and the ending -o.

Proverb in the group of collective numerals

The use of such formations from larger numbers should be attributed to common speech, although it would be imprudent to dismiss it altogether from their existence. Sometimes you can find such collective numerals even in fiction. Examples of such statements are in Lavrenev's story "Forty-first", when the main character - a girl from the people - reads her own poems. Yarka and the picturesque line "Twenty to the Steppe is gone" - it is she who shows that in common speech collective numerals are used not only those that are formed from the numbers of the first ten, but also from larger ones. Produce them in the same way, that is, using the suffix -ep- and the end- o .

Change in collective numerals by birth, number and case

For a link in a sentence, words change. Just like quantitative, collective numerals do not have number and gender. The exception in this sense is the word "both", since it can take the form of a feminine gender - "both". But here, by case, all collective numerals change. Examples:

1. Oh, this is a great miracle, when two lovers give caress to each other, create a family, give birth and bring up children! (Nominative case).
2. The love triangle bears this name precisely because the relationship binds three loving people , and not two. (Accusative).
3. The seven guys never had to return to their parents - they blew themselves up on the mine in the first battle. (Dative).

Declension of the words "two" and "three"

Collective numerals with nouns - for example, "two boys" and "three guys" - change by case as well as full adjectives in the soft version, standing in the plural. For example:

Despite the fact that the two boys (RP) had only one toy, there was never a quarrel between them. These two babies (D.P.) were so comfortable with each other that a feeling of white envy for their friendship arose in the soul by itself. Seeing these two guys (V.P.), selflessly playing the same toy, adults sometimes wondered if we are living right in our adult world. The old ladies, with tenderness, admired two babies ( T.P. ), who practically did not part for a minute. And local gossips talked about these two boys (PP), inventing implausible stories of their origin.

Declination of the words "four", "five" and so on

All other quantitative-collective numerals need to be changed by case by the principle of complete adjectives of the plural. Only this process takes place according to a firm variant. It should also be remembered that the emphasis in these collective numerals, standing in oblique cases, always falls on the ending. We shall decline the expression "four singers":

There are four singers.

Fourth singers.

D.P. - Four singers.

V.P. - four singers.

T.P. - four singers.

Petrograd - four singers.

Collective numerals both (both)

This word stands out especially, since by meaning it means not only two people, but also a couple of inanimate objects. The remaining collective numerals can mean a group of only individuals, that is, people, or inanimate beings that have a human form, for example, dead people. You should also know that such a collective numeral as "both" can be combined with feminine nouns in the form "both". These words are bent as well as the collective numeral "two", "three", that is, like the complete adjective of the plural in the soft version: both, both (II), both, both (RP), both , Both (D.P.), both, both (V.P.), both, both (T.P.), both, both (PP).

Speech errors associated with the use of the word "both"

1. Most often in the conversation there is a substitution of the word "both" with the noun "wallpaper". Here the evil joke is played by the similarity of the letters in them. As an example, consider the message of the grandmother that both grandsons have returned home: "Wallpaper at home, go quickly!". Her daughter, this treatment may well be explained as the fact that someone bought trellises for repair and put them in the room.
2. Often people use the form "both" in oblique cases in combinations with nouns denoting persons or objects of the feminine gender, instead of the collective numerals "both". For example, the saying is incorrect: "Her bracelets were on both hands, and all her fingers are ringed with rings and rings". Instead, you should say and write like this: "Her bracelets were on both hands, and rings and rings are full of fingers."

Use

Collective numerals are used less often than quantitative ones. This is because they can be combined with a narrower range of nouns.

1. The words "two", "three", "four" and so on are used for inanimate nouns that exist only in the plural, for example: two scissors, three forceps, four days . "Becoming a qualified hairdresser-specialist, Tatiana could no longer use her old home tools, she had to quickly acquire two quality professional scissors."
2. Collective numerals are used in combinations, where the determining nouns are males, for example: five comrades, two men. "Two men, dressed in identical long dark raincoats and wrapped in scarves to their noses, walked past in a hurried step, constantly looking back."
3. It is allowed to use collective numerals in relation to a group of people, which includes people both male and female. For example: "She had two children: a girl and a boy".
4. Sometimes collective numerals are used with personal pronouns in the plural: " There were five of us left in the room when it suddenly became absolutely dark, the floor trembled underfoot and began to sway like a ship's deck, and the books and souvenirs that stood on the shelves crashed down ". " There were only four of them . But with them , with all four , our company could already manage quite easily. " "We really missed you two ! Rather, rather to the table! "
5. The use of collective numerals is limited stylistically. It is inappropriate to use data of the type of combinations in the official speech - here it is recommended to write and say "four workers" or "six engineers" instead of "four workers" or "six engineers".

Errors in the use of collective numerals

1. Most often, there is a nuance of misuse of this group of words, such as the combination of them with nouns, denoting female faces, for example: "four wanderers", "five nuns", "three female students" . Instead, you should use quantitative numerals, such as "four wanderers", "five nuns", "three students" .
2. It is absolutely unacceptable to use collective numerals with inanimate nouns having a single number, for example: "two instruments", "three tables" . Here it is required, as in the subparagraph above, to use combinations of "two instruments", "three tables" .
3. You can not combine collective numerals with animate nouns, meaning not animals, for example: "three bears" instead of "three bears" , "four bulls" instead of "four bulls ".

Variant forms of the use of nouns with quantitative and collective numbers

The Russian language differs from all the others in that there are always options that can replace one expression with another equivalent. Often possible use of word combinations as nouns with collective numerals, and with quantitative. Such substitutions are possible in the following cases.

1. In conversation about the faces of the male variety is allowed: "four spies" and "four spies , " "two detectives" and "two detectives . "
2. In the word-combinations of nouns denoting single objects, but in the singular not used, and collective numerals (except for "two", "three" and "four"), it is possible to use quantitative ones. For example: "five gates" - "five gates", "seven forks" - "seven forks" .

But in the conclusion it is necessary to repeat: collective numerals are more pertinent in common speech, in colloquial speech. If the author sets a goal to write a text in a beautiful literary language, such phrases should be avoided. But in the artwork (in the design of dialogs), they will help add color to the characters' images, to convey the spirit of the era. Categorically you can not use collective numerals in documents and official speech.