Breakdown of Малыш играет, ему почти три года.
играть
to play
три
three
год
year
ему
to him, to it
почти
almost
малыш
baby
Questions & Answers about Малыш играет, ему почти три года.
Why do we use ему instead of он for "he"?
In Russian, you do not say that someone "is" an age. Instead, you express that years are given "to" them. We use the Dative case for this, so он (he) becomes ему (to him).
Why does the sentence use года instead of лет for "years"?
The word for "years" changes depending on the number. For numbers ending in 2, 3, and 4 (like три), you use года. If the baby were 5, you would use лет, and if they were 1, you would use год.
Is малыш only used for baby boys?
малыш can be used for any baby or toddler, boy or girl. However, because the noun is grammatically masculine, you still use the masculine pronoun ему to refer back to it, even if you know the baby is a girl!
Where is the word for "is" in the second half of the sentence?
Russian drops the present tense verb "to be" (is, am, are). The second part of the sentence is just put together directly, literally translating to "to him almost three years."
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