Words with one number only: hroshi, mebli, oplesky
Some words live in one number only, and the verb has to follow. The test is quick: put a verb next to the word. Mebli koshtuiut — plural. Volossia dovge — singular. English keeps a few of these — scissors, pants, news — Ukrainian keeps a whole wardrobe. For example: “Гроші закінчилися ще в середу” — The money ran out back on Wednesday. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a…
How it works
Some words live in one number only, and the verb has to follow. The test is quick: put a verb next to the word. Mebli koshtuiut — plural. Volossia dovge — singular. English keeps a few of these — scissors, pants, news — Ukrainian keeps a whole wardrobe.
Plural only, and the verb is always plural. Hroshi money, mebli furniture, dveri door, liky medicine, skhody stairs, shtany pants, shorty, okuliary glasses. Then shakhy chess, hrudy chest, vusa moustache, shpaleri wallpaper, kanikuly vacation. Oplesky applause, perehovory talks, vybory elections, revnozhi jealousy, nozhytsi scissors, parfumy perfume.
Singular where English takes a plural: volossia hair, vzuttia footwear, lystia leaves, nasinnia seeds, pokhoron funeral. All neuter except the last: volossia dovge, nasinnia ziishlo.
And collective singulars: posud, odiah, molod, studentstvo — one shape, many things: posud brudnyi, the dishes are dirty.
Table
| word | number | with a verb |
|---|---|---|
| hroshi | plural only | hroshi ie |
| mebli | plural only | mebli stoiat |
| volossia | singular only | volossia dovge |
| posud | one collective form | posud brudnyi |
By example
- Гроші закінчилися ще в середуThe money ran out back on Wednesday
- Меблі привезуть у понеділокThe furniture will be delivered on Monday
- Волосся в неї довге й темнеHer hair is long and dark
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Why hroshi is always plural in Ukrainian?
Some words live in one number only, and the verb has to follow. The test is quick: put a verb next to the word. Mebli koshtuiut — plural. Volossia dovge — singular. English keeps a few of these — scissors, pants, news — Ukrainian keeps a whole wardrobe.
What does it look like in an example sentence Ukrainian?
“Гроші закінчилися ще в середу” — The money ran out back on Wednesday. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.