One and a Half
In Russian, the number "one and a half" has two forms for the Nominative case (and inanimate Accusative), depending on the noun's gender:
- полтора for masculine and neuter nouns.
- полторы for feminine nouns.
Like the numbers 2, 3, and 4, these forms take a noun in the Genitive singular.
| We had one and a half liters of juice. | У нас было полтора литра сока. |
With feminine measurements like тонна (ton) or порция (portion), use полторы.
| The car weighs one and a half tons. | Машина весит полторы тонны. |
| I prepared one and a half portions of rice. | Я приготовил полторы порции риса. |
Measurements and Dimensions
To describe exact dimensions, use nouns like длина (length) and ширина (width). The object being measured takes the Genitive case.
| The length of the table is twenty centimeters. | Длина стола — двадцать сантиметров. |
| The length of this pencil is one and a half centimeters. | Длина этого карандаша — полтора сантиметра. |
| The width of the corridor is one and a half meters. | Ширина коридора — полтора метра. |
The Oblique Form: Полутора
In all other cases, the number changes to полутора for all genders.
Unlike полтора and полторы, which take a singular noun, the oblique form полутора takes a noun in the plural of the required case.
For example, the preposition около (about/approximately) requires the Genitive case. Both the number and the noun take their Genitive forms (полутора + Genitive plural).
| He drank about one and a half liters of water. | Он выпил около полутора литров воды. |
You will frequently use this structure when estimating a расстояние (distance).
| The distance from the park to the house is about one and a half kilometers. | Расстояние от парка до дома — около полутора километров. |