Most of us are familiar with the Russian praising word «молоде́ц», which is the equivalent of “Well done!” or “Good job!” While the English version can address both a single person and many individuals, the Russian молодец needs a plural form – молодцы́. However, where is the letter е in the plural form? Should it be молодецы? The matter is that the word молоде́ц belongs to the group of so-called –ец words; for example, америка́нец, кана́дец, оте́ц, огуре́ц, or коне́ц. These words have a tendency of losing the vowel е while forming the plural forms. This grammar phenomenon is called “fleeting е": америка́нец – америка́нцы, кана́дец – кана́дцы, оте́ц – отцы́, огуре́ц – огурцы́, коне́ц – концы́.
Ты молоде́ц! И он молоде́ц! И она молоде́ц! Все студенты молодцы́!
