Breakdown of Когда бабушке будет шестьдесят лет, она выйдет на пенсию.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
бабушка
grandmother
год
year
быть
to be
когда
when
шестьдесят
sixty
выйти
to exit, go out (pf) / to go beyond
пенсия
pension
Questions & Answers about Когда бабушке будет шестьдесят лет, она выйдет на пенсию.
Why does the sentence use бабушке instead of бабушка?
In Russian, age is expressed by putting the person in the Dative case. Literally, this sentence says "When to grandma will be sixty years." Since бабушка is a feminine noun ending in -а, its Dative form is бабушке.
Why is the verb будет singular when "sixty years" sounds plural?
When talking about age in the past or future, Russian uses the impersonal singular forms было (for the past) and будет (for the future). This stays the same no matter how many years you are talking about.
The English translation says "When grandma is sixty...", so why does Russian use the future tense будет?
English often uses the present tense after "when" to talk about the future, but Russian is more literal. If the event hasn't happened yet, Russian strictly uses the future tense after когда (when). So, you must literally say "When grandma will be sixty...".
Why is the word for "years" лет here instead of года?
The word you use for "years" depends on the last digit of the number. Numbers ending in 1 take год, 2-4 take года, and 5-9 or 0 (like шестьдесят) take the Genitive plural form лет.
What is the literal meaning of выйдет на пенсию, and why is пенсия in the Accusative case?
It literally means "she will step out onto pension". Выйдет is the future tense of выйти (to go out / to exit). Because this action describes a transition or metaphorical motion into a new state, the preposition на is followed by the Accusative case, changing пенсия to пенсию.
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