Breakdown of Его назначили офицером в двадцать три года.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
три
three
год
year
назначить
to appoint (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Его назначили офицером в двадцать три года.
Why is офицером in the instrumental case here?
The verb назначить (to appoint) takes a direct object in the accusative case (the person being appointed, here Его) and the role or position in the instrumental case (офицером). This is standard for verbs of appointing, naming, or electing.
The English translation says "He was made," but назначили is active ("they appointed"). How does this work?
Russian frequently translates English passive sentences using an indefinite-personal construction. By using the third-person plural verb (назначили) without the subject pronoun они, the focus stays on the action and the receiver (Его), which perfectly mirrors the English passive "He was appointed" or "He was made."
Why does the sentence use в + двадцать три года instead of the dative case for his age?
You use the dative case (like Ему двадцать три года) to state how old someone is at the present moment. But to say that an event happened at a specific age in the past or future, you use the preposition в followed by the accusative case.
As a quick refresher, why is the word for "years" года and not лет?
The word for year changes based on the last digit of the number. Numbers ending in 2, 3, and 4 (except 12, 13, and 14) require the genitive singular, which is года. Numbers ending in 5 through 9, plus 0 and the teens, take the genitive plural лет.