The noun's counting form
Ten minutes putting the noun-count rule itself to work: 2–4 puts a noun into its own special form, 5 and up puts it into the genitive plural, and for a compound like twenty-two only the last digit decides which one applies. Build два стола and пет столова, fill in the form двадесет два стола demands, and translate a sentence with twenty-five tables in it, before hearing the grammar lesson's own example of the feminine 5+ form said aloud.
The part of the grammar page this lesson drills — read it here, then use it.
Special cases - the noun-count rule
After 1, the noun stays in its normal singular form: један сто, једна сестра. After 2, 3 or 4, the noun takes a special counting form - for masculine and neuter nouns this looks like the genitive singular (сто → стола), for feminine -а nouns it looks like the nominative plural (сестра → сестре). After 5 and up, the noun takes the genitive plural (сто → столова, сестра → сестара).
For compound numbers, only the last digit decides the form: двадесет један сто (21) behaves like 1, двадесет два стола (22) behaves like 2–4, двадесет пет столова (25) behaves like 5+ - however large the whole number is. The teens (11–20) are the one exception: they always take the 5+ genitive-plural form, regardless of what they end in.
| Number | Masculine (sto) | Feminine (sestra) | Neuter (selo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | sto | sestra | selo |
| 2–4 | stola | sestre | sela |
| 5+ | stolova | sestara | sela |