Questions & Answers about Нет, завтра пятнадцатое июня, у нас экзамен.
Why does пятнадцатое end in -ое?
In Russian, dates are expressed using ordinal numbers (first, second, fifteenth, etc.). When stating the current date, we use the neuter form ending in -ое because the neuter word число (date or number) is secretly understood: завтра [число] пятнадцатое.
Why is the month июня instead of its dictionary form июнь?
Because you are saying "the fifteenth of June". To show this "of" relationship, Russian uses the genitive case. The masculine noun июнь drops its soft sign and adds -я to become июня.
Are any letters silent when pronouncing пятнадцатое?
Yes, the д is completely silent. In Russian numbers that contain -дцать (the equivalent of "-teen"), the combination -дца- is pronounced simply as "ца". So the word sounds more like "пятнацатое".
Why are there no words for "is" or "have" in this sentence?
Russian almost always skips the present tense verb "to be". So "tomorrow is the fifteenth" is simply завтра пятнадцатое. Likewise, Russian expresses "we have" using the preposition у plus the genitive pronoun нас (literally "by us"). Since "by us [is] an exam" also relies on the present tense verb "to be", the verb is dropped here too, leaving just у нас экзамен.