Dative of age

Level 2Sounds Like datelʹnyj vozrasta

In Russian, you don't say 'I am 20'; you say 'To me [there are] 20 years.' The person is in the dative case, and the word for 'year' changes based on the number.

How It Works

The dative of age is an impersonal construction. The person whose age is being stated is not the grammatical subject, but the 'experiencer' in the dative case (often called the 'Dative of the Subject' in textbooks).

1. The Dative Subject
You must use dative pronouns or nouns:

  • Мне (to me)
  • Тебе (to you - informal)
  • Ему / Ей (to him / to her)
  • Нам / Вам / Им (to us / to you / to them)
  • Nouns: Брату (to brother), Маме (to mom)

2. The Word for 'Year'
Russian uses three different forms depending on the number:

3. Tense Changes

  • Present: No verb is used (Мне двадцать лет).
  • Past: The verb usually takes the neuter singular было (Мне было двадцать лет). However, if the age ends in 1 (e.g., 21, 31), the word год becomes the subject and you must use the masculine был (Мне был двадцать один год).
  • Future: Use the form будет (Мне будет двадцать лет). If the age ends in 1, it remains будет but agrees with the masculine год.

Examples (5)

  1. Мне двадцать один год.

    I am twenty-one years old.

    Word by Word: To me twenty one year.

    Uses 'год' because the number ends in 1.

  2. Ей скоро будет тридцать четыре года.

    She will soon be thirty-four years old.

    Word by Word: To her soon will be thirty four years.

    Uses 'года' because the number ends in 4, and 'будет' for the future tense.

  3. Моему брату исполнилось десять лет.

    My brother turned ten years old.

    Word by Word: To my brother turned ten years.

    Uses 'лет' for the number 10. The verb 'исполнилось' means 'turned' or 'was completed'.

  4. Сколько вам лет?

    How old are you?

    Word by Word: How many to you years?

    The standard question for age using 'сколько' (how many) and the dative 'вам'.

  5. Им было всего пять лет.

    They were only five years old.

    Word by Word: To them was only five years.

    Uses the past tense 'было' and the dative pronoun 'им'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative case (I am...) instead of the dative.

    Я двадцать лет.
    Мне двадцать лет.

    In Russian, age is something that 'happens' to you, so you must use the dative 'мне' (to me) rather than the nominative 'я' (I).

  • Matching the past tense verb gender to the person instead of the numeral.

    Ей была двадцать один год.
    Ей был двадцать один год.

    In the past tense, the verb must agree with the word for 'year'. If the age ends in 1 (год), use the masculine 'был'. For most other ages, use the neuter 'было'.

  • Using 'год' for numbers 11-14.

    Мне одиннадцать год.
    Мне одиннадцать лет.

    Numbers 11 through 14 are exceptions and always take the genitive plural form 'лет'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Dative of ageLevel 2

Learn This First

To express age in Russian, learners need to understand that the person is not the grammatical subject in the nominative, but rather the recipient of years in the dative case. Familiarity with personal pronouns and the 'how many' question word is essential for forming these sentences, as is the understanding that Russian typically omits the verb 'to be' in the present tense.