Breakdown of У корабля очень высокие борта.
очень
very
высокий
tall / high (of a level or amount)
у
at, by
корабль
ship
Questions & Answers about У корабля очень высокие борта.
I thought masculine nouns usually form their plural with -ы or -и. Why does борта end in -а?
Борт (side of a ship or vehicle) is one of those special masculine nouns that take a stressed -а in the nominative plural, rather than the regular -ы. Just like дом becoming дома, this is an exception you have to memorize!
Since борта ends in -а, why doesn't the adjective take a feminine singular ending like высокая?
Even though борта ends in -а and might look feminine at a quick glance, it is still a plural noun (the plural of the masculine noun борт). Adjectives always have to match the noun's true gender and number, so the adjective takes the plural ending -ие, making it высокие борта.
Where is the verb in this sentence?
It is omitted! Russian uses the У + [Genitive] construction to express possession, which literally means 'At [possessor] is/are [possessed item]'. In the present tense, the verb 'to be' is almost always left out.
Why is the word for ship корабля here instead of корабль?