GrammarMore about Numbers

Mathematical Operations

You use: [A] [operation] [B] равно́ [Dative].

Addition: плюс
2+3=5 → Два плюс три равно пяти.

Subtraction: ми́нус
10-4=6 → Десять ми́нус четыре равно шести.

Multiplication: умно́жить
2*3=6 → Два умно́жить на три равно шести.

Multiplication II: Два́жды три равно шесть. (twice three equals six)
2*3=6 → Два умно́жить на три равно шести.

Division: раздели́ть
6/3=2 → Шесть раздели́ть на три равно двум.

Results in ...: Use равно́ followed by Dative, or simply state the result, for example два плюс три - пяти.

Approximations - The word order trick

If you want to say "about five," you have two options:

The formal way: Use the preposition о́коло + Genitive.

• около пяти часов - about five hours

The native/colloquial way: Just reverse the word order.

• пять часов - Exactly 5 hours
• часов пять - About 5 hours

The Word "Both" (оба / о́бе)

о́ба: For masculine and neuter nouns: оба брата, оба окна.

о́бе: For feminine nouns: обе сестры, обе машины.

Indefinite Quantifiers (Number-ish Words)

Words that don't have a specific digit but behave like numbers grammatically:

• Много - many/much
• Мало - few/little
• Несколько - several/some
• Сколько - how many

These always require the Genitive Singular for uncountable nouns and Genitive Plural for countables:

• Uncountable nouns → Genitive Singular
  • много воды - much water
  • мало времени - little time
  • сколько сахара? - how much sugar?
• Countable nouns → Genitive Plural
  • много людей - many people
  • несколько книг - several books
  • сколько студентов? - how many students?

"All Three / All Five" (Все три / Все пятеро)

When you want to emphasize a complete group, you use все (all) followed by the number.

For objects use the standard cardinal number: Все три книги - All three books.

For people it sounds much more natural to use collective numbers: Все трое друзей - All three friends.

Collective adverbs ("The Two of Us")

This is how Russians describe how a group is performing an action. These are very handy for making plans or describing a scene.

• вдвоём: The two of us / together as a pair.
• втроём, вчетвером, впятером, вшестером, всемером: The four/five/six/seven of us.
• Мы пошли в кино вдвоём. - We went to the cinema together (just the two of us).
• Давайте встретимся втроём. - Let’s meet the three of us.
• Они работали вчетвером. - They worked as a group of four.

These forms only work with people (or animate groups), not objects. You can't use them for "two cars" or "three books".

Distributive: One each / Two each

If you are giving out items or describing a sequence, you use the preposition по + number.

• По одному. - One each.
• По два. - Two each.
• По три билета. - Three tickets each.
• Дайте по стакану воды. - Give one glass of water each.

After по, the number is usually Dative in careful/formal speech and simple form in everyday speech.

• по двум билетам - two tickets each - correct, formal
• по два билета - two tickets each - very common colloquial

One by one - один за другим / друг за другом

• Люди заходили один за другим. - People entered one by one.
  For when events/things happening sequentially.
• Машины ехали друг за другом. - The cars drove one after another.
  For people or objects physically following each other.

Nouns for Groups (Sets)

Russian has specific nouns that represent a quantity, similar to the English word "dozen."

Пара: A pair or a couple. Very common in everyday speech.

• Дай мне пару минут. - Give me a couple of minutes.

Десяток: A set of exactly ten or about ten, common in shopping and informal counts, very common when buying eggs.

• Я купил десяток яиц. - I bought ten eggs.

Сотня: A group of a hundred, can be exactly or roughly.

• На концерте была сотня людей. - There were about a hundred people at the concert.

Дюжина: A dozen (bookish or old-fashioned,less common now, but still used in literature).

• Он заказал дюжину устриц. - He ordered a dozen oysters.

Frequency and Multipliers

Frequency: The word раз - times.

• Я был там три раза. - I’ve been there three times.

Multipliers: Words like Двойной (double) or Тройной (triple), четверной (quadruple).

• Двойная порция, пожалуйста. - Double portion, please.

"Twice as much"

When comparing quantities, Russians use a specific "In [number] times" structure.

Double: в два раза больше

• Моя зарплата в два раза больше твоей. - My salary is twice as much as yours.

Triple: в три раза больше

• Их стало в три раза больше. - They are three times as much.

Half as much: в два раза меньше or shorter вдвое меньше

• Эта машина вдвое дешевле. - This car is half as much.

Using fillers

Russians use certain large numbers to describe something vague or "somewhere in that range":

С лишним - With extra: You use this after any larger number to mean "and then some.":

• Сто с лишним рублей - A hundred-something rubles.
• Ему сорок с лишним лет. - He is forty-something years old.

Энное количество - An "N-th" amount: Borrowed from algebra, this is used in daily speech to mean "a certain, unspecified number of things."

• У меня энное количество дел. - I have a bunch of things to do.
• Он потратил энную сумму. - He spent some amount (not small).