Breakdown of Я думаю, что ответ — двадцать.
я
I
думать
to think
ответ
answer
что
that (conjunction)
двадцать
twenty
Questions & Answers about Я думаю, что ответ — двадцать.
Why is there a dash before двадцать?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb to be (is/are) is skipped. When linking a subject to its value, you often replace the missing 'is' with an em dash (—).
What case is двадцать in here, since there is no noun being counted?
It is in the nominative case, which is the dictionary form. When you use a bare number on its own to state a value, like 'twenty' as an answer, it stays in the nominative form.
Can I drop the word что like we often drop 'that' in English?
No, you cannot. In English we can say 'I think the answer is twenty', but Russian strictly requires the connecting word что (that). You must also always put a comma before что when it connects two parts of a sentence.
Is there a trick to remembering how to build numbers like двадцать?
Yes! The ending -дцать is an old, shortened form of десять (ten). So два (two) combined with -дцать literally means 'two tens'. This is a helpful pattern as you memorize the teens and tens!
Learn Я думаю, что ответ — двадцать and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free