двое, трое, чацвёра - a second set of numbers for people taken as a group, for plural-only nouns and for young creatures. Using the ordinary numeral instead is grammatical but sounds off.
I can use collective numerals where they are required and avoid them where they are not.
Schau dir diese Beispiele an. Kannst du das grammatische Muster erkennen?
У іх трое дзяцей.
They have three children.
У кватэры двое дзвярэй.
There are two doors in the flat.
Нас было чацвёра ў намёце.
There were four of us in the tent.
У мяне дзве сястры, а не двое сясцёр.
I have two sisters, not a set of two.
Achte auf die hervorgehobenen Teile. Was haben sie gemeinsam?
| 2 | двое | 5 | пяцёра |
| 3 | трое | 6 | шасцёра |
| 4 | чацвёра | 7 | сямёра |
They run out at about ten; beyond that the ordinary numerals take over.
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| People as a group | трое дзяцей, нас было чацвёра |
| Plural-only nouns | двое дзвярэй, трое нажніц |
| Young creatures | пяцёра кацянят |
| Paired things | двое рукавіц |
The second row is the one you cannot avoid: дзверы, нажніцы and грошы have no singular, so два дзверы is impossible and двое дзвярэй is the only way to count them.
Unlike два, which takes the nominative plural, a collective numeral takes the genitive plural:
Both are correct; the second presents them as a set.
Not with women (дзве сястры, not двое сясцёр), and not with inanimate countable objects (два сталы, not двое сталоў). Overusing them is as much a marker as avoiding them.
"Both" has a gender: абодва for masculine and mixed groups, абедзве for feminine. Абодва браты, абедзве сястры. They decline: абодвух, абодвум.
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ÜbungsaufgabenTypical errors: using an ordinary numeral with a plural-only noun, which is simply impossible, and using a collective for women or objects.
Using an ordinary numeral with a plural-only noun
Двое дзвярэй, трое нажніц - the collective is the only option.
Using a collective numeral for women
Дзве сястры, не двое сясцёр.
Using the nominative plural after a collective
It takes the genitive plural: двое братоў.
Using one form of both for either gender
Абодва for masculine, абедзве for feminine.
У іх трое дзяцей.
They have three children.
People as a group, and the noun goes into the genitive plural.
У кватэры двое дзвярэй.
There are two doors in the flat.
<em>Дзверы</em> has no singular, so only the collective can count it.
Нас было чацвёра ў намёце.
There were four of us in the tent.
The collective as a predicate, with the impersonal <em>было</em>.
У мяне дзве сястры, а не двое сясцёр.
I have two sisters, not a set of two.
Women take the ordinary numeral - the collective would be wrong here.
Абодва браты прыйшлі, і абедзве сястры таксама.
Both brothers came, and both sisters too.
"Both" has a gender, and the feminine carries <em>дз</em>.
Im Kurs üben
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses B1 an