Breakdown of Наш дедушка старше бабушки.
наш
our (наш, наша, наше)
дедушка
grandfather
бабушка
grandmother
старше
older
Questions & Answers about Наш дедушка старше бабушки.
Why is бабушки in the Genitive case instead of the Nominative?
In Russian, there are two ways to say "than" when comparing things. One way is to use the word чем (than). The other way—which is used in this sentence—is to drop чем entirely and simply put the second person or thing into the Genitive case (бабушки). This Genitive shortcut is very common for short, simple comparisons.
Can I rewrite this sentence using the word чем?
Yes! If you use чем, the word after it goes back to the Nominative case (to match the case of дедушка). The sentence would be: Наш дедушка старше, чем бабушка. Both versions mean the exact same thing.
What adjective does the comparative word старше come from?
It comes from старый (old). Старше is an irregular comparative form. Many common adjectives have these short, irregular forms ending in -е or -ше when you are comparing two things.
Дедушка ends in -а, which usually makes a word feminine. Why is it paired with the masculine наш?