Breakdown of Окончание строительства состоялось четырнадцатого декабря две тысячи девятнадцатого года.
год
year
две
two (f)
декабрь
December
тысяча
thousand
четырнадцатый
fourteenth
девятнадцатый
nineteenth
состояться
to take place
строительство
construction
окончание
completion
Questions & Answers about Окончание строительства состоялось четырнадцатого декабря две тысячи девятнадцатого года.
Why does the day четырнадцатого have a neuter Genitive ending?
In Russian dates, the ordinal number for the day agrees with the neuter noun число (date/number). Even though the word число is dropped and not actually spoken in this sentence, the number четырнадцатого still takes the neuter Genitive form to match it.
Why are all the parts of the date (the day, month, and year) in the Genitive case?
When expressing that an action happened 'on' a specific, full date, Russian drops the preposition and simply puts the day, month, and year into the Genitive case. You are essentially saying the event happened on the fourteenth day of December of the year 2019.
If the whole date is Genitive, why doesn't две тысячи change its endings?
This is a strict rule for compound ordinal numbers (ordinals made of multiple words). When you put a year like 2019 into the Genitive case, only the very last word takes the ordinal form and changes its case. The first part, две тысячи, stays locked in its standard cardinal form, while only девятнадцатого changes to the Genitive ordinal form.
Why is the verb состоялось in the neuter form?
Past tense verbs must agree in gender with the subject of the sentence. The main subject here is окончание (the completion), which is a neuter noun. The noun строительства (of the construction) is just a Genitive modifier describing what was completed, so it does not affect how the verb is conjugated.
When should I use состоялось instead of other words for 'happened'?
The verb состояться means 'to take place' or 'to be held'. It is used for planned events, scheduled meetings, or official ceremonies. Because the end of a construction project is an official milestone, состоялось is a perfect fit. For unplanned or accidental events, you would use a verb like случилось or произошло instead.
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