In Russian, adjectives need to match the nouns they describe. This means they change based on the noun's gender, number, and case. This article will help you understand how to make adjectives plural, like the word "умный" (smart), so they fit with plural nouns correctly.

1. Basic Rules for Adjective Agreement

Adjectives in Russian change their endings based on the gender and number of the nouns. There are three genders in Russian:

• Masculine
• Feminine
• Neuter

For plural forms, all genders become the same. So, let’s see how to change adjectives for plural nouns.

Adjective Endings in Plural:

• Masculine: -ый or -ий
• Feminine: -ая
• Neuter: -ое
• Plural: -ые or -ие

For plural adjectives, they usually end in -ые or -ие. Which one you choose often depends on the consonant before the ending.

2. Making "умный" Plural

About "умный":

• Singular Masculine: умный (smart)
• Singular Feminine: умная (smart)
• Singular Neuter: умное (smart)
• Plural: умные (smart)

When you want to use "умный" in a plural form, it changes to "умные." Just remember to switch from the masculine form to the plural ending.

3. Matching Plural Nouns

When adjectives are plural, they must match the noun in number and case. Here are some examples:

Examples:

1. Masculine noun:

   • Singular: Умный мальчик (Smart boy).
   • Plural: Умные мальчики (Smart boys).

2. Feminine noun:

   • Singular: Умная девочка (Smart girl).
   • Plural: Умные девочки (Smart girls).

3. Neuter noun:

   • Singular: Умное животное (Smart animal).
   • Plural: Умные животные (Smart animals).

4. Changes in Different Cases

Adjectives also change based on the grammatical case of the noun. Here’s how "умные" changes in different cases.

Nominative Case:

• Умные студенты (Smart students).

Accusative Case (for living things):

• Я вижу умных студентов (I see smart students).

Genitive Case:

• Умных студентов не было (There were no smart students).

5. Comparing and Superlatives

When you compare things or say which is the best, the same rules apply.

Comparative: To say "smarter," you use "умнее."

• Singular masculine: Этот мальчик умнее (This boy is smarter).
• Plural: Эти мальчики умнее (These boys are smarter).

Superlative: For "smartest," you use "самый умный."

• Singular masculine: Он самый умный (He is the smartest).
• Plural: Они самые умные (They are the smartest).

6. Practice Exercises

To help you understand better, try these exercises:

1. Change the adjective "хороший" (good) to plural.
2. Create sentences using the plural form of adjectives in the accusative case.
3. Change the sentence "Умный человек" (Smart person) into plural and switch the case to genitive.

By learning these rules, you’ll get better at describing things accurately in Russian with the right adjective agreement!