Breakdown of У корабля очень высокие борта.
очень
very
высокий
tall / high (of a level or amount)
у
at, by
корабль
ship
борт
board
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?
Because of the possession construction. The preposition у always requires the Genitive case. Since корабль is a masculine noun ending in a soft sign (-ь), that soft sign is replaced by -я to form the Genitive корабля.
Does борт only mean the side of a ship?
It primarily refers to the side of a watercraft or aircraft. You will easily spot its connection to the English word 'board' (as in 'overboard' or 'on board'). In modern Russian, it is also very commonly used to refer to airplanes or spaceships themselves.
Learn У корабля очень высокие борта and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free