Breakdown of Uusi räätäli on kolmekymmentä vuotta vanha.
olla
to be
vanha
old
uusi
new
kolmekymmentä
thirty
vuosi
year
räätäli
the tailor
Questions & Answers about Uusi räätäli on kolmekymmentä vuotta vanha.
Why is vuotta in the partitive singular instead of plural?
What grammatical case is vanha in, and what does it agree with?
Vanha (old) is in the nominative singular because it describes the subject, uusi räätäli (the new tailor), which is also in the nominative singular. Even though it comes right after the partitive word vuotta, it agrees with the tailor, not the years.
If the subject were plural (the new tailors), how would the word vanha change?
It would become vanhoja. The sentence would be Uudet räätälit ovat kolmekymmentä vuotta vanhoja. Because the subject is plural and used with the verb olla (to be), the adjective describing them must be in the partitive plural. The measurement phrase kolmekymmentä vuotta remains exactly the same.
Do I always need to include the word vanha when expressing age?
No, just like in English, you can drop the dimension adjective. You can say Uusi räätäli on kolmekymmentä vuotta or simply Uusi räätäli on kolmekymmentä if the context already makes it clear you are talking about age.
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