Learn Russian: Ему было шестьдесят лет, когда он стал пенсионером. - He was sixty years old when he became a pensioner.

Ему было шестьдесят лет, когда он стал пенсионером.

He was sixty years old when he became a pensioner.

Breakdown of Ему было шестьдесят лет, когда он стал пенсионером.

он

he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)

Questions & Answers about Ему было шестьдесят лет, когда он стал пенсионером.

Why does the sentence start with ему instead of он for "he"?

In Russian, age is expressed using the Dative case. The structure literally translates to "To him was..." rather than "He was..." Therefore, the subject он (he) changes to the Dative pronoun ему (to him).

Since we are talking about a man, why is the verb было (neuter) used instead of был (masculine)?

When talking about age in the past, the verb быть (to be) acts impersonally and always takes the neuter singular form было, no matter who you are talking about. You will always use было for past age, whether referring to a man, a woman, or multiple people.

Why is the word for "years" лет here instead of года?

The form of the word "year" changes based on the number that comes right before it. For numbers ending in 5 through 9, and 0 (like шестьдесят - 60), you must use лет (the Genitive plural form). You only use года for numbers ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Why does пенсионером have an -ом ending?