How to spell tomato or tomatoes correctly. Spicy tomato appetizer

Just think, such small and tasty vegetables, but how many nerves these devils managed to spoil the Russians! And it seems like every person encounters it almost every day: preparing salads or soups, and some even planting it in the garden. But many people still cannot figure out the correct pronunciation of this vegetable and always doubt: a lot of tomatoes or tomatoes.

The rule is familiar from school. But why are there always so many problems with him?

Genitive case of nouns

Perhaps you haven’t forgotten how you studied and then memorized the cases of nouns in Russian lessons? If you forgot, remember, there are only six of them: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, prepositional. Each of them has two questions - to

So, the cases of nouns:

1. Them. n. Who? What?
2. R. p. Who? What?
3. D. p. To whom? Why?
4. V. p. Who? What?
5. TV n. By whom? How?
6. Ave. p. About whom? About what?

Helper word for correct case determination

For simplicity and ease of memorization, helper words were selected for each of the six cases, which reminded and helped with the determination of the case. They allowed the phrases “a lot of tomatoes or tomatoes” to be declined correctly. The words are quite simple:

1. Them. n. - “there is.”
2. R. p. - “no”.
3. D. p. - “give”.
4. V. p. - “I see.”
5. TV p. - “satisfied.”
6. Ave. p. - “I think.”

The noun "tomatoes" is used in nominative case. But “a lot of tomatoes” (or is it a tomato?), a combination so disliked by poor students, refers to the genitive case. Answers the question “what?”

Nouns with similar problem

Of course, not only tomatoes were so guilty of something that they received such an incomprehensible ending that caused so much controversy and discussion. In general, there are as many as seven groups of nouns, the pronunciation of which also causes problems. These include nouns of the plural form of the genitive case:

1. Nationalities. I don’t know any Gypsies, Bashkirs or Bulgarians. So many Kalmyks and Yakuts gathered at the rally.
2. Paired items. There’s no way I’m going to buy new boots for winter.
3. Difference of troops by clan affiliation. A small detachment of partisans won the victory. Thanks to the diligence of sappers, the explosion was avoided.
4. Various measures of measurement. I bought a hundred volt light bulb. IN New Year I ate five kilograms of tangerines.
5. Name of items. I have collected a whole collection of bracelets.
6. Nouns most often used in plural. You won't have any nerves!
7. Name of products. How many apricots have grown in our garden! There is a can of sprat in the refrigerator, give it to the cat.

Well, did you guess which one is correct: a lot of tomatoes or tomatoes?

Correct answer

It seems like a harmless vegetable, it lies on its own plate and doesn’t bother anyone. But even though the tomato itself did not offend anyone, the correct pronunciation of the name of the red vegetable in the genitive case is still the subject of endless verbal battles in Internet duels.

To resolve this “war,” try pronouncing the word “tomato”:

• nominative - “Is there something? Three tomatoes."
• dative - “Give to what?” Three tomatoes."
• accusative - “I see what? Three tomatoes."
• instrumental - “Happy with what? Three tomatoes."
• prepositional - “I’m thinking about what? About three tomatoes."
• genitive - “No what? Three (many) tomatoes or tomatoes?”

The word for red vegetable is a common noun that fits only one group of “problematic” nouns: the name of the food.

This is why it is correct to say or write “a lot of tomatoes.” And by no means “too many tomatoes”. Remember, a tomato is a vegetable that sits alone on your plate. Plural form of this noun, used in the genitive case, sounds like “no/many/five, etc. tomatoes.”

Now you know how to say correctly: a lot of tomatoes or tomatoes. Therefore, buying, for example, five kilograms of a red vegetable, you will not become the subject of ridicule. If you still forget, use a synonym for the word tomatoes. And say: “Five kilograms of tomatoes.”

How often do we have to pronounce nouns in the plural, genitive case. And we pronounce it somehow, without even thinking about whether we pronounce it correctly or not. What if you think about it?

Previously, the "100 gram" form was considered incorrect. However, now plural forms. birth numbers the cases of “grams” and “grams” became equal. But to be honest, the second option still bothers me. And I'm not alone. Korney Chukovsky was also indignant at first, but then changed his mind. “Now it’s even strange for me to remember how angry the current phrase was at first: one hundred grams. "Not a hundred grams, but a hundred grams!" - I shouted indignantly. But little by little I got used to it, got over it, and now this new form seems completely normal to me.” So you and I will have to get used to it. So, correct: both 100 GRAMS and 100 GRAMS.

Is tomato salad tasty?

While talking with a friend, it was said that the greenhouse was small this season, only ten kilograms of tomatoes were harvested. He smiled condescendingly at my statement, criticized my Russian language, my literacy. In fact, the phrase corresponded to all the norms of “grammatical art.” In short, the word “tomatoes” sounded artificial.

Ordinary speech situation sometimes becomes ambiguous from the point of view of the strictness of the use of forms of known and used words. Bring two nets of tomatoes or a tomato? Eggplant dish or eggplant? Tangerine or tangerine marmalade?

Which is correct? Similar problems concern not only housewives. Experts assign sections scientific publications discussion of this issue.

Rule for speaking

Folk speech uses the short version with null ending, save " language means" Orally they say 320 grams, however, not 320 grams, nine kilograms of eggplant, but not nine kilograms of eggplant. Modern spelling admits that the ending –ov in the genitive case for masculine plural nouns is omitted in informal oral communication.

Rule for writing

When used with numerals, agreed definitions, one should write tomatoes.

How often do we have to pronounce nouns in the plural, genitive case. And we pronounce it somehow, without even thinking about whether we pronounce it correctly or not. What if you think about it? Let's look at seven groups of nouns.

1. Name of nationalities. The norm for some nouns of this group is zero inflection (ending). There is no ending “-ov” Bulgarians, Ossetians, English, Mordvins, Romanians, Mohicans, Gypsies, Turks, Turkmen, Buryats, Bashkirs. However, there are three nouns whose norm applies to two variants at once: Karelians - Karelians, Sarmatians-Sarmatians, Yukagir-Yukaghirs. Other nationalities have the ending “-ov” in the plural, genitive case: many Tajiks, Tungus, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Kalmyks, Bedouins, Yakuts etc.

2. Names of paired items. They are characterized by zero inflection. Three subgroups can be distinguished here.

1) shoe names: no boot, felt boots, moccasin, boot, leggings, sandal.

2) names of clothes: material for shorts, bloomers, leggings, cuffs.

3) Accessory names: glitter shoulder strap, epaulette.

4) names of objects: target gate.

3. Names of military branches. An interesting story happened with this group of words. If the noun has a collective meaning, then the ending is zero, but when denoting individuals, the inflection “-ov” should be used. For example, exit dragoon, lancer, midshipman, cadet, partisan. But, three dragoons, lancers, midshipmen, cadets. The exception is the word partisans: three partisans. Three exception words have the inflection of “-ov” in any use: call midshipmen, sappers, miners.

4. Product names.

1) products ending in “-ov”: two kilograms apricots, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, tomatoes.

2) zero flexion products: kilogram eggplant, pomegranate; jar sprat.

5. Weights and other measurements.

1) measures with inflection “-ov”: five kilograms, carats, hectares, ergs, cables.

2) measures with zero inflection: one hundred ampere, watt, volt, newton, oersted, coulomb.

3) equal forms: five microns - micron, ohms - ohm, roentgens - roentgen.

6. Names of items: many keychains, bracelets, rails. Equal forms: few cartridges-cartridge.

7. Nouns used more often in the plural form:

1) nouns ending in “-ov”: not enough nerves, criteria, comments, bronchi, couloirs, honeycombs, bots, socks, debates, canned food.

2) nouns with zero inflection: tournament chess.

The attentive reader must have noticed that all of the above nouns are masculine. Indeed, most often incidents occur with the masculine gender. However, the neuter gender is not far behind. All words in this group can be divided into four categories.

1) neuter nouns with the normative ending “-й” in the plural, genitive case: how many outbacks, coasts, drugs.

2) neuter nouns with normative zero inflection: so many shoulders, apples, saucers, towels, mirror.

3) neuter nouns ending in “-ev”: few swamps, laces, upper reaches, lower reaches, leads, troughs, tentacles, blankets, knees, hooves.

4) neuter nouns with a standard fluent vowel at the end: a lot nozzle - nozzle, draft - draft.

A separate group consists of nouns that have only a plural form. There are also four categories here.

1) equal options: sale rake - rake, stilts - stilt; No squeezes - squeezes, picks - picks, picks - picks, picks - picks, sawdust - pickled.

2) the ending “-ov/-ev” is normative for frills, clips, rags, rags, antlers, scum, clavichords.

3) nouns with zero inflection: fear attack, darkness, twilight.

4) the ending “-е” is normative for everyday life, wood, nursery.

Housewives, when chopping vegetables, sometimes think about whether they are making a salad from tomato or from tomatoes? Is there a bouquet of dahlias or dahlias on the table? Did they bring a bag from the dacha?

Similar questions come to the mind of any person who wants to speak competently. In dictionaries and reference books, entire chapters are devoted to these topics.

What Science Says

Natalia Shvedova, together with other scientists, in the book “Russian Grammar” devoted a large section to this problem of declension. Special attention they focus on a group of masculine nouns that end solid sound and change according to the 2nd declension. Among them, for example, there are the words computer, orderly, sock. Similar lexemes in the genitive plural receive the ending -ov: computers, orderlies, socks. The same data is given by D. Rosenthal in his spelling dictionary.

But any rule has exceptions, especially if the conversation is about the Russian language. Thus, philologists distinguish words whose genitive case is in the plural. h. is written with a zero ending: one Lezgin - four Lezgins, woolen stocking - woolen stockings.

Exception words include:

1. Nationalities of people in non-singular numbers: Turkmens - Turkmens, Mordvins - Mordvins, Turks - Turks, Romanians - Romanians, Gypsies - Gypsies, Bashkirs - Bashkirs. All other nationalities end in –ov: several Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kalmyks, Yakuts, Kyrgyz and others. There are 3 more nouns, the norm of which provides for both endings at once: no Sarmatians - Sarmatians, Karelians - Karelians, Yukagir - Yukaghirs.
2. Military groups, names of military branches. It is important here to distinguish what we're talking about: if a collective meaning is meant, then the ending will be zero: soldiers - soldier, partisans - partisans, exit midshipman. If we talk about individuals, then the ending –ov will appear: five lancers, cadets, midshipmen, dragoons. Again, 3 exceptions from -s: review of miners, midshipmen, sappers.
3. Names of items with the sign of pairing: eyes - eye, stockings - stockings, shoulder straps - shoulder straps, boots - boots, cuffs - cuffs, felt boots - felt boots, shorts - shorts, moccasins - moccasins, leggings - leggings, collars - collars.
4. Designations of measurements, various measures: 100 watts, 7 amperes, 8 gigabytes, 20 kilograms. For spatial designations, it is desirable to have –s: we bought six hectares, ares, kilometers, inches and feet. Double standard exceptions: six ohm-ohm, micron-micron, x-ray.

However, the notorious tomatoes, as well as other fruits and vegetables, are no exceptions. Such words represent the husband form. r. nouns with a hard consonant at the end, therefore genitive and accusative cases form an inflection –s: several tomatoes, orange compote, 5 eggplants, a basket of bananas or apricots, 3 types of tomatoes.

And if we need apples, then we will buy a kilogram of apples, not apples. Despite the similarity from a formal point of view (apples is also a 2nd declension noun), in the genitive case “tomatoes” and “apples” have different endings.

When there is no tomato

All these rules are strictly observed in written speech. Oral speech, which tends toward brevity and economy of pronunciation ability, often allows words to be “shortened” by cutting off the ending. For informal communication shapes of tomato, orange, lemon are considered acceptable.

In the colloquial version there is the word “tomato”, which refers to the feminine gender. It will change according to cases according to the 1st declension feminine, such as a pear. Genitive pl. h. is written without an ending (more precisely, with a zero): a dish of pears, of tomatoes.

Style differences

Writing full/short case variants depends on speech styles. Scientific, artistic, journalistic, official business - these styles strictly regulate the use of only full form, which is considered the only true one for them. IN conversational style, and also sometimes in some literary texts, there may be a truncated form without -s. Works of art such short forms words are needed to stylize the statement to resemble natural conversational speech.

Thus, a person who strictly adheres to literary norms language, must say “no tomatoes” and nothing else. The “no tomato” option is only possible for colloquial speech, for simple communication.

Now, knowing these rules, you can go shopping. But be careful that the dishonest merchant does not sell rotten tomatoes.