Breakdown of Древние римляне построили этот мост.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
мост
bridge
древний
ancient
построить
to build (perfective)
римлянин
Roman
Questions & Answers about Древние римляне построили этот мост.
Why is the plural of римлянин (Roman) римляне and not римлянины?
Nouns denoting nationalities or inhabitants of a place that end in -анин or -янин drop the -ин suffix in the plural. Instead of the usual plural endings, they take -е in the nominative plural. So, римлянин becomes римляне.
If the nominative plural is римляне, what is the accusative plural if we want to say we saw the Romans?
For these -анин / -янин nouns, the accusative (and genitive) plural has a zero ending. You completely drop the plural suffix. So, we saw the ancient Romans would be мы видели древних римлян.
Why does the direct object этот мост look like it is in the nominative case?
It is actually in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb построили. However, because мост is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form is exactly the same as its nominative form. The demonstrative pronoun этот also follows this rule.
Why does the adjective древние end in -ие instead of the standard plural -ые?
The dictionary form is древний (ancient), which is a soft-stem adjective. Because the stem ends in a soft consonant, its plural ending must be the soft -ие rather than the hard -ые.
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