Breakdown of Ему семьдесят четыре года.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
четыре
four
год
year
семьдесят
seventy
Questions & Answers about Ему семьдесят четыре года.
Why does the sentence start with ему instead of он?
To talk about age in Russian, you must use the dative case for the person. You are literally saying 'To him are seventy-four years.' Ему is the dative form of он.
How is the word семьдесят (seventy) built, and why is there a soft sign in the middle?
It is built by joining семь (seven) and десят (an old word for ten). For the tens from 50 to 80, the first part keeps its soft sign. It is a common spelling mistake to forget it, so remember that семьдесят has two soft signs!
Do Russian compound numbers like 74 work the same way as in English?
Yes, they do. You simply say the word for the tens (семьдесят) and then the word for the ones (четыре). You do not need to add any linking words like 'and' between them.
Why is the word for 'years' года here, when other ages use лет?
In compound numbers, the noun always follows the rule of the very last word. Because 74 ends with четыре (four), it takes the genitive singular form года. Ages ending in 1 take год, 2-4 take года, and 5-9 and 0 take лет.
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