Agreements or contracts - how is it right?.

The use of the noun "contract" in the plural becomes a stumbling block for many when preparing a public speech or during a business meeting, when it becomes necessary to sign these very "contracts." Or "contracts"? How to speak correctly so as not to find yourself in the position of an ignoramus who speaks poorly Russian?

The answer is simple: one should be guided by orthoepic linguistic norms, which prescribe a stylistic distinction between the use of the forms "contracts" and "contracts" depending on the speech situation.

The form "contracts" is traditional and does not violate the method of forming the plural of masculine nouns of the II declension. They are formed using the ending -ы (-и), in contrast to the nouns of the middle gender of the II declension, which are characterized by the ending -а (-я):

masculine genus neuter
instructor - instructorslake - lakesa
turn - turnycloud - clouda
circle - circleandwindow - windowa
contract - contractsvillage - villagesa

written speech, its use is considered appropriate in any speech context. However, language is a living system that cannot exist as a standard in live communication. Processes are actively taking place in it, which, violating a certain norm, lead to the emergence of new stable forms of the word and the development of the language as a whole. This can be confirmed by the productive formation of the plural form of nouns with the ending -а (-я) according to the type of neuter gender:

side - sidea

pearl - pearla

professor - professora

contract - contracta

In modern Russian, such plural forms exist along with the literary ones and are not considered a violation of the orthoepic norm. They are classified as normative, but with stylistic differentiation: the use of the forms "professor", "cruiser", "scooter", "contract", etc. normatively correspond only to oral-colloquial and professional speech. The spelling rules prescribe the use of the plural of the noun "contract" in the form of "contracts" with an emphasis on the third syllable in official business, journalistic styles and the form of "contract" in colloquial style and professional communication.

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between the words “contracts” and “contracts” is as follows:

  • The plural noun “contracts” formed by the type of masculine nouns of the II declension. The "contract" form is formed according to the type of neuter nouns of the same declension and is not traditional for normative word use.
  • In modern Russian, the forms "contracts" and "contracts" correspond to literary norms, but are differentiated according to the sphere of use.
  • The form "contracts" is considered to be in common use, which means that it corresponds to all literary styles, including official business and journalistic. The "contract" form is acceptable in colloquial and professional speech.
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