The hard numerals: пятьюстами, девятисот, полтора/полутора, оба/обе, дробные; spoken workarounds
I can decline complex numerals including сотни, полтора and оба/обе in all cases.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Марафон начинается через полтора часа, а финиш - через четыре с половиной.
The marathon starts in an hour and a half, and the finish is in four and a half.
Смета выросла до девятисот тысяч, и мы развели руками обеими сразу.
The budget grew to nine hundred thousand, and we threw up both hands at once.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
In English "five hundred" looks the same in every sentence. In Russian every part of a number declines, and the hundreds, полтора and оба are where even native speakers hesitate. You will meet these forms in contracts, news and exam texts; in conversation people often find a way round them.
| Number | Genitive | Instrumental |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | пятисот | пятьюстами |
| 900 | девятисот | девятьюстами |
| полтора (1.5) | all other cases: полутора (полутора часов, с полутора литрами) | |
| оба / обе | обоих / обеих | обоими / обеими |
Both halves of 200-900 decline: пять + сот becomes пяти + сот in the genitive and пятью + стами in the instrumental. So: около пятисот человек ("about five hundred people"), с пятьюстами рублями ("with five hundred roubles"), о трёхстах гостях.
In a written compound every word declines: с двумя тысячами тремястами рублями ("with two thousand three hundred roubles"). This is the textbook norm, and it is heavy. Speakers dodge it by rewording: instead of в размере пятисот рублей they say рублей пятьсот ("five hundred roubles or so"), or they read the figure in the nominative after a noun: сумма - пятьсот рублей.
Полтора ("one and a half") has one form for every oblique case: полутора: больше полутора часов, в полутора километрах от Кремля. Оба splits by gender, as English "both" does not: оба брата, but обе сестры, обеих сестёр, обеими руками.
Fractions use an ordinal for the bottom number and a genitive noun: две третьих процента, ноль целых пять десятых. Decimals are read the same way, which is why a Russian newsreader takes so long to say 0.5.
Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises
Practice ExercisesHundreds frozen
пятьюстами, девятисот: both parts decline
оба/обе gender ignored
обе руки, обеих сестёр: feminine row
Марафон начинается через полтора часа, а финиш - через четыре с половиной.
The marathon starts in an hour and a half, and the finish is in four and a half.
полтора часа: nominative-accusative of 1.5.
Смета выросла до девятисот тысяч, и мы развели руками обеими сразу.
The budget grew to nine hundred thousand, and we threw up both hands at once.
девятисот (gen.) + обеими (instr. fem.).
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Practice in course
Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises