Breakdown of Ширина коридора — полтора метра.
метр
metre
коридор
corridor, hall
полтора
one and a half [f. полторы, obl. полутора]
ширина
width
Questions & Answers about Ширина коридора — полтора метра.
Why use полтора instead of полторы here?
The word полтора means 'one and a half' and has two forms in the nominative case. We use полтора for masculine and neuter nouns, and полторы for feminine nouns. Since метр (meter) is a masculine noun, we use полтора.
Why is the word for meter in the genitive singular (метра) instead of plural?
In the nominative and accusative cases, полтора acts just like the numbers 2, 3, and 4. It requires the noun following it to be in the genitive singular. So, метр becomes метра.
Why is there a dash between коридора and полтора?
The dash acts like the English verb 'is'. In Russian present tense, the verb 'to be' is skipped. When you link a subject (ширина, width) directly to a noun phrase or number (полтора метра), you often insert a dash to separate the two parts of the sentence clearly.
Why is коридора in the genitive case instead of nominative?
It expresses possession, translating to 'of the corridor'. The main subject of the sentence is ширина (width), and putting коридор into the genitive case (коридора) connects the two ideas as 'the width of the corridor'.
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