Breakdown of Мой брат основал этот бренд в две тысячи первом году.
брат
brother
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
год
year
две
two (f)
в
on / during (a time period)
первый
first (1st)
тысяча
thousand
основать
to found
бренд
the brand (m)
Questions & Answers about Мой брат основал этот бренд в две тысячи первом году.
Why is only первом changed in в две тысячи первом году while the rest of the number stays the same?
In Russian, when you say "in a specific year," only the very last number becomes an ordinal number (words like "first," "second," "tenth") and takes the Prepositional case. The rest of the number (две тысячи) stays in its basic Nominative form. You are literally saying "in the two thousand first year."
Why does the word for year end in -у (году) instead of the usual Prepositional -е?
The word год (year) has a special, irregular Prepositional case form. When you use it with the prepositions в (in) or на (on) to talk about a point in time, it takes a stressed -у ending instead of the regular -е.
Why does the sentence use две тысячи instead of два тысячи for "two thousand"?
The Russian word for thousand, тысяча, is a feminine noun. Because of this, it must always be paired with the feminine form of "two," which is две. This rule applies even when you are just reading out the numbers of a year!
Этот бренд is the direct object being founded. Why doesn't its ending change to show the Accusative case?
It actually is in the Accusative case! Бренд is a masculine inanimate noun (a non-living thing). For inanimate masculine nouns, the Accusative case looks exactly identical to the basic dictionary form (the Nominative case). Therefore, этот бренд doesn't visibly change its ending.
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