Breakdown of У владельца есть только четверть имущества.
только
only
у
at, by
есть
is, there is, to have
четверть
quarter
владелец
owner
имущество
property
Questions & Answers about У владельца есть только четверть имущества.
Why is четверть in the Nominative case here, but имущества is in the Genitive?
In the Russian possession structure У + someone + есть + something, the thing owned is the grammatical subject and takes the Nominative case. Here, the subject is the fraction четверть (a quarter). The word following the fraction takes the Genitive case to show what it is a fraction of, so имущество (property) becomes имущества.
What happened to the spelling of владелец when it became владельца?
The preposition У requires the Genitive case. The noun владелец (owner) has a fleeting vowel, meaning the е in the final syllable drops out when an ending is added. A soft sign is inserted to keep the л soft, resulting in владельца.
What gender is the word четверть?
четверть is a feminine noun. Like many Russian nouns ending in a soft sign, you just have to memorize its gender. This is useful to know because if you want to add the number one, you must use the feminine form and say одна четверть.
Can we drop the word есть in this sentence?
Yes, you could say У владельца только четверть имущества. Keeping есть simply states the literal fact of possession, while dropping it slightly shifts the emphasis onto the exact amount being discussed. Both versions are very common and natural here.
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