Masculine and feminine nouns usually take -ы, or -и after certain consonants and after a soft ending. Neuter nouns in -о take -а and ones in -е take -я. A group of common masculine words takes a stressed -а instead: дом becomes дома.
Examples
- У меня два брата и три сестры.
- I have two brothers and three sisters.
- Гостиницы полны.
- The hotels are full.
- Два кофе, пожалуйста.
- Two coffees, please.
The mistake to avoid
The spelling rule matters: after к, г, х, ж, ч, ш, щ you write -и, never -ы.
Where this fits in
Numbers, days, time, Russian A1: Count, talk about days and months, give the time, and handle numbers in real situations.