Breakdown of Сколько требований для кандидатов?
сколько
how much / how long / as much / as many as
для
for
кандидат
candidate
требование
requirement
Questions & Answers about Сколько требований для кандидатов?
Why does требований end in -ий?
The word сколько (how many) requires the noun following it to be in the Genitive plural case. The base word is требование (requirement), which is a neuter noun ending in -ие. To form the Genitive plural for these nouns, the -ие changes to -ий.
Why is кандидатов in the Genitive plural if it's not following сколько?
It's because of the preposition для (for), which always forces the noun that follows it into the Genitive case. Since we are talking about multiple candidates, we use the Genitive plural. For a masculine noun ending in a consonant like кандидат, you add -ов to get кандидатов.
Could I use за or на to say "for candidates" here?
No, для is the correct preposition here. You use для when something is intended or meant for someone (like a list of requirements meant for a candidate). За is usually for exchanges or doing something on behalf of someone, while на is often for time periods or specific purposes.
Why doesn't the Russian sentence include words for "are there"?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (is/are/am) is almost always skipped. You don't need a direct translation for "are there"; you simply ask "How many requirements for candidates?"