Question 1

What case is "шестьсот" in here? Since it's the object of the verb, shouldn't it decline?

Accepted Answer

It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of содержит (contains). However, for numbers counting inanimate objects, the accusative form is exactly the same as the nominative. You will only see both halves of the word change when you use other oblique cases, like the genitive (шестисот) or dative (шестистам).

Question 2

How is the word "шестьсот" formed, and why does it end in "-сот" instead of "-сто"?

Accepted Answer

Hundreds from 500 to 900 are built by taking the base number (here, шесть) and adding сот, which is the genitive plural of сто (one hundred). It literally means "six of hundreds." By contrast, 300 and 400 use the genitive singular (-ста), which is why we say триста and четыреста.

Question 3

Why is the word for calories ("калорий") in the genitive plural?

Accepted Answer

Калорий is the genitive plural of the feminine noun калория. As a refresher: when a number in the nominative or accusative case ends in 5 or above—including round hundreds like шестьсот—the noun that follows it must be in the genitive plural.

Question 4

Could I use "целый" instead of "весь" to say "this entire dessert"?

Accepted Answer

You could say целый, but it changes the nuance. Весь focuses on the totality of a specific item ("all of this dessert"). Целый (whole/intact) is an adjective often used to express surprise at the completeness or size of something (e.g., "I can't believe I ate a whole dessert!"). Here, весь is neutral and perfect for stating a factual measurement.

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