Breakdown of В книге восемьсот страниц.
книга
book
в
in / to (direction)
страница
page
восемьсот
eight hundred
Questions & Answers about В книге восемьсот страниц.
Why is "book" written as книге instead of книга?
Because it follows the preposition в (in) to show location. This requires the prepositional case, which changes the feminine ending from -а to -е.
Where is the verb for "there are" in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (is/are) is almost always omitted. The sentence literally means "In book eight hundred pages," which is the standard way to express "There are..." or "The book has...".
How is the number восемьсот (eight hundred) formed?
It combines восемь (eight) and сот (an old plural form of a hundred). Notice that the soft sign (ь) from восемь stays in the middle of the word, but there is no soft sign at the very end.
Why is the word for "pages" (страниц) in the genitive plural form?
In Russian, numbers 5 and above (including round hundreds like восемьсот) require the following noun to be in the genitive plural. The dictionary form is страница, and to make it genitive plural, you drop the final -а, leaving just страниц.