Question 1

Since this lesson is about age, why aren't we using the Dative case here?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence, we are using adjectives (молодой - young, старый - old) to describe someone's age, just like any other physical trait. You only use the Dative case when you are stating the exact number of years, like in мне 20 лет (I am 20).

Question 2

Папа and дедушка end in -а. Doesn't that make them feminine?

Accepted Answer

Usually, nouns ending in -а are feminine. However, because папа (dad) and дедушка (grandpa) refer to male people, they are strictly masculine nouns. That is why the adjectives describing them take the masculine endings -ой and -ый.

Question 3

Why is the word а translated as "and" here instead of и?

Accepted Answer

The Russian word а is used to show a contrast between two things. Here, we are contrasting the dad's youth with the grandpa's old age. It can be translated as "and" or "but" in English, but it always signals that a comparison or contrast is happening.

Question 4

Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Russian doesn't use a present tense word for "is" or "are". You just put the subject and its description side by side: папа молодой literally means "dad young".

Мой папа молодой, а дедушка старый.

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