Breakdown of Для периметра нам не хватает приблизительно шестисот сорока трёх сантиметров.
не
not
мы
we
три
three
для
for
сорок
forty
шестьсот
six hundred
сантиметр
centimeter
хватать
to suffice / to be enough
приблизительно
approximately
периметр
perimeter
Questions & Answers about Для периметра нам не хватает приблизительно шестисот сорока трёх сантиметров.
Why is 643 written as шестисот сорока трёх in this sentence?
The verb хватать (to suffice/lack) requires the thing that is lacking to be in the Genitive case. For compound numbers in Russian, every single word must decline. So, we need the Genitive forms of 600 (шестисот), 40 (сорока), and 3 (трёх).
In the Nominative case, numbers ending in 3 take the Genitive singular. Why do we see the Genitive plural сантиметров here?
When a compound number ending in 2, 3, or 4 is in an oblique case (any case other than Nominative or inanimate Accusative), the noun drops the special singular rule and simply matches the plural case of the number. Since the number is in the Genitive case, the noun goes into the Genitive plural (сантиметров).
How exactly is the word for 600 (шестисот) formed in the Genitive case?
Numbers from 500 to 900 are made of two halves that both decline. For 600, the first half is шесть, which becomes шести in the Genitive. The second half is derived from сто, which becomes сот in the Genitive plural. Smashed together, they make шестисот.
Why does the number 40 become сорока?
The numbers сорок (40), девяносто (90), and сто (100) have a special, simplified declension pattern. They use their base form for the Nominative and Accusative cases, and they take an -а ending for all other cases. Since we need the Genitive case here, сорок becomes сорока.
Why is 'we lack' translated using нам (Dative case) instead of мы?
The verb хватать (and its perfective pair хватить) is used impersonally. The person who lacks something is treated as the indirect object, so they take the Dative case (нам). A more literal translation would be 'To us, [approximately 643 centimeters] is lacking'.
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