Breakdown of Собственник купил три седьмых плодородного гектара.
три
three
купить
to buy (perfective)
седьмой
seventh
гектар
hectare
Questions & Answers about Собственник купил три седьмых плодородного гектара.
Why is the denominator седьмых in the genitive plural?
In Russian fractions, the denominator is an ordinal number (like "seventh") that declines like an adjective. Remember the tricky grammar rule for the numbers 2, 3, and 4? They take the genitive singular for nouns, but the genitive plural for adjectives. Since the numerator is три, the ordinal седьмых must be in the genitive plural. It is essentially modifying the dropped feminine noun части (parts).
The lesson is about feminine cardinal numerators. Is три feminine here?
Conceptually, yes! Fractions count implied feminine "parts" (части). If the numerator were 1 or 2, you would see the explicit feminine forms одна or две. However, the number 3 does not have a separate feminine form, so три looks exactly the same here as it would when counting masculine or neuter nouns.
Why is плодородного гектара in the genitive singular?
The fraction три седьмых acts as a quantity. Just like with words like много or половина, the noun that follows tells us what is being divided and must take the genitive case. Because the owner bought a fraction of a single hectare, гектар and its adjective плодородный are put into the genitive singular. If he had bought a fraction of multiple hectares, it would be in the genitive plural.
I already know the word владелец for "owner." How is собственник different?