Numeral nouns for groups of males
In short
| numeral noun + gen. pl. | |
|---|---|
| 2 | dvojica igrača |
| 3 | trojica navijača |
| 4 | četvorica trkača |
| 5+ | petorica, šestorica, sedmorica fudbalera |
Only for all-male groups (mixed: dvoje, troje; things: dva, tri). Declines like žena: dvojicu, dvojice, dvojici, dvojicom. Verb plural, participle -li: Trojica igrača su pobedili.
B1 · Lesson 12 · Brojne imenice na -ica: dvojica, trojica
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
In the last lesson you met dvoje, troje, četvoro for mixed groups and children. Serbian has one more way to count people, used only when every person in the group is male: dvojica, trojica, četvorica. Sports reports are full of them, because teams, players and referees are so often all men: Dvojica igrača su došli na trening — "Two players came to training."
Three ways to say "two"
| What you count | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| things, or people when you do not stress the group | cardinal: dva, tri, četiri | dva igrača, tri lopte |
| a mixed group, or children | collective: dvoje, troje, četvoro | dvoje dece, troje prijatelja |
| a group of men or boys only | numeral noun: dvojica, trojica, četvorica | dvojica igrača, trojica navijača |
The forms
The series is built by adding -ica to the stem of the number, and it goes on past four, just like the collectives did:
| Number | Numeral noun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | dvojica | dvojica igrača |
| 3 | trojica | trojica navijača |
| 4 | četvorica | četvorica trkača |
| 5 | petorica | petorica fudbalera |
| 6 | šestorica | šestorica takmičara |
| 7 | sedmorica | sedmorica biciklista |
The counted noun: genitive plural
Look at the noun after the number: igrača, navijača, fudbalera. It is always the genitive plural — the same form you use after pet or mnogo. This holds even for dvojica, trojica and četvorica, where the ordinary numbers dva, tri, četiri take a different form. So: dva igrača but dvojica igrača; četiri trkača but četvorica trkača — and with some nouns the difference is easy to hear: dvojica braće, trojica sudija.
The noun after -ica is NEVER the nominative plural. Not dvojica igrači, not trojica navijači — always dvojica igrača, trojica navijača.
The numeral noun itself changes case
Dvojica looks like a feminine noun in -a, and it declines like one: Trener je pozvao dvojicu igrača (object), bez dvojice igrača (after bez), sa četvoricom navijača (with s/sa). The counted noun stays in the genitive plural whatever happens to the number.
| Case | 2 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | dvojica | četvorica | petorica |
| accusative | dvojicu | četvoricu | petoricu |
| genitive | dvojice | četvorice | petorice |
| dative / locative | dvojici | četvorici | petorici |
| instrumental | dvojicom | četvoricom | petoricom |
The verb: plural, masculine
Even though dvojica looks singular and feminine, the group it names is several men — so put the verb in the plural, and a past participle in the masculine plural (-li): Trojica navijača čekaju ispred stadiona. Četvorica trkača su stigli do cilja. Sedmorica biciklista nisu završili trku.
Do not let the -a ending fool you into a singular verb: not Dvojica igrača igra, but Dvojica igrača igraju. You may hear other agreement patterns in real speech; in this course, use the plural verb and the masculine -li participle.
Check what you read
6 of the 15 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Which word is used ONLY for a group of two men or boys?
U timu su dve devojke i ___ momaka.
Posle utakmice smo razgovarali sa(trojica) navijača.
Trener je pozvao(četvorica) igrača.
Bez(petorica) najboljih igrača nismo mogli da pobedimo.
Četvorica ___ igraju polufinale.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Trojica navijača čekaju ispred stadiona.
Three fans are waiting in front of the stadium.
Sedmorica biciklista nisu završili trku.
Seven cyclists did not finish the race.
Četvorica tenisera igraju polufinale sutra.
Four tennis players are playing the semi-final tomorrow.
Dvojica golmana treniraju svako jutro.
Two goalkeepers train every morning.
Trener je pozvao dvojicu igrača.
The coach called up two players.
Dvojica braće igraju u istom timu.
Two brothers play on the same team.
Šestorica igrača su dobili žuti karton.
Six players got a yellow card.
Dvojica igrača su došli na trening.
Two players came to training.
Četvorica trkača su stigli do cilja.
Four runners reached the finish line.
Petorica mladića su trčali maraton po kiši.
Five young men ran the marathon in the rain.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 20
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
Three fans are waiting in front of the stadium.
All men: use a numeral noun.