Questions & Answers about Мои новые часы очень дорогие.
Why is everything in the plural form if the English translation is "My new watch" (singular)?
In Russian, the word for watch or clock, часы, is always plural. Because the noun is plural, all the words describing it—the possessive pronoun мои (my) and the adjectives новые (new) and дорогие (expensive)—must also be in their plural forms.
Why do the plural adjectives новые and дорогие end differently (-ые vs -ие)?
The standard plural ending for adjectives is -ые, which gives us новые. However, Russian has a strict spelling rule: you can never write the letter ы after г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, or щ. Because the base of дорогие ends in г, we have to use -ие instead.
Wait, doesn't часы just mean "hours"?
It means both! Часы can mean "hours" (the plural of час, meaning "hour"), but it is also the everyday word used for a watch or a clock. You can tell which one it means from the context. Here, you wouldn't say "my new hours are very expensive," so it must mean "watch."
Why isn't there a word for "is" or "are" in the Russian sentence?