How is the plural formed in the Uzbek language? Is it necessary to use the suffix -lar if there is already a number? Why “besh kitob”, but “kitoblar”? In this lesson we will examine the rules in detail, give examples, and do exercises with the plural of nouns in the Uzbek language.
Exercise 1. Look at the pictures. Write the words.
Exercise 2. Listen and repeat. Then learn the rule.
Bu nima?
The next picture is a picture of the article.
Bu/ Bular — demonstrative pronouns meaning that someone or something is nearby. For distant objects and people, among others, U/ Ular are used. U/ Ular also mean he, she, it / they when referring to people and things, regardless of their location. However, according to a number of Uzbek language experts, bu/ bular are preferable when referring to things, because at least ular are more associated with people. But you can also, in a shop or at a stall, pointing to a distant object or objects, use U/ Ular: U nima?/ Ular nimalar?
Plural of Uzbek nouns
Uzbek nouns, as a rule, do not distinguish singular and plural by their inherent meaning; that is, bola can mean both child and children, tog’ — mountain and mountains, baliq — fish in singular and plural, olma — apple and apples, qush — bird and birds. Therefore, an Uzbek sentence can often be translated in different ways, for example, toqqa bordi — he went to the mountain / mountains.
Nevertheless, in the Uzbek language there is the suffix -lar, which, among other things, conveys the idea of plurality: bolalar — children, tog’lar — mountains, baliqlar — fish in plural, olmalar — apples, qushlar — birds.
Numerals in the Uzbek language are divided into cardinal (bir, ikki,…), counting/individual (bitta, ikkita,…), ordinal (birinchi, ikkinchi,…), distributive, fractional, collective, and indefinite-quantitative.
If a cardinal or counting numeral stands before a noun, the suffix -lar is generally not used.
Examples:
besh kitob — five books
yigirma daftar — 20 notebooks
ikkita daftar — two notebooks
beshta bola — five children
o’nta o’quvchi — 10 students
However, if additional modifiers stand between the numeral and the noun being defined, the noun may take the plural suffix -lar. For example, o’n ikki yangi va eski kitoblar — twelve new and old books.
And one more important note about insertions between numerals and nouns. In this case there is no suffix -lar, and the numerals are cardinal. It will be clearer from the examples.
uch stakan choy — three glasses of tea
ikki kilo uzum — two kilograms of grapes
besh metr chit — five meters of calico
uch litr sut — three liters of milk
yigirma gektar yer — 20 hectares of land
olti nafar student — six students
Memo table on the use of -lar
Situation | Is -lar used?
A number with “ta” or without “ta” before a noun | ❌ No
No numeral, the plurality needs to be emphasized | ✅ Yes
Adjectives appear between the number and the noun | ✅ Yes
Exercise 3. Fill in the table following the example.
| Birlik | Ko’plik |
| Bu ruchka. | Bular ruchkalar. |
| 1 _______. | Bular telefonlar. |
| 2 Bu qo’l soat. | _______. |
| 3 _________. | Bular soyabonlar. |
| 4 Bu lug’at. | ________. |
| 5 Bu kalit. | ________. |
| 6 Bu shahar. | _________. |
| 7 ________. | Bular pasportlar. |
| 8 Bu planshet. | _________. |
| 9 _________. | Bular elektron pochta xabarlari. |
Exercise 4. Write questions and answers following the example.
Bu nima?
Bu noutbuk.
1
2
3
4
5
Now you know when the suffix -lar is used in the Uzbek language to form the plural and when it is not. Reinforce the material with exercises and audio. In the next lesson we will continue the topic of the plural in practice.
- Previous lesson: Lesson 36. Wallet and other small items in Uzbek
- Next lesson: Lesson 38. Exercises on the plural form in Uzbek
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Answers to exercises
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