Thread: Decimals - Interest Rate - Rent - Current Account

Antonio,
I guess you know that the word "of" implies genetive in English. So, every time you mean "of something", it refers to genetive.
Millions of people = миллионы людей (genitive)
a lot of people = много людей (genitive)
We use genitive even if it's not specified directly:
a few cars = несколько машин/автомобилей (genitive)

We used "единственное число родительного падежа" because a fractional part is always less than one, it's like a part of the entire number (do you see "of"? Ok, use genitive!). So we decline "карат" implying the fractional part of the number, because it's the last part of the sentence.

пятьдесят пять десятых = incorrect, 55/10=5.5 not .55.

All fractions are always used with genitive singular: половина текста, полдня, треть часа etc. Also полтора доллара.

Yes, because День, Текст, Час exist as singulars.
Also, Полтора дровосека

Но: половина обезьян, 20 процентов учеников.
So, if we want to refer to the fraction of [multiple objects], we use genitive plural.

Not sure though about , пять целых двенадцать сотых [процента,процентов] избирателей

Final Question:
0.5 = пять десятая карата
If I try to translate it in English what it means? Five Tenths!

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

Final Question:
0.5 = пять десятая карата
If I try to translate it in English what it means? Five Tenths!

Пять десятых карата.

Yes, five tenths (5/10) = a half.

So I suppose the 0.4 it will be: четыре десятых карата.

Yes

As a general comment I would like to mention that numbers and participles are my worst topics in Russian.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

As a general comment I would like to mention that numbers and participles are my worst topics in Russian.

Being able to count and do arithmetic is one of the hardest things to do in a foreign language. But it's a bit easier in Russian because you have to use arithmetic to tell the time без двенадцати час, пять минут восьмого and so on.

Originally Posted by John_Douglas

But it's a bit easier in Russian because you have to use arithmetic to tell the time без двенадцати час

FYI без двенадцати час doesn't sound natural to me
you can say без десяти/пятнадцати/двадцати час but I would try to avoid saying без двенадцати час. If you need to be that specific you can say двенадцать часов, сорок восемь минут or just двенадцать сорок восемь

Also IDK if everybody knows, Russians live on 24 hour time unlike Americans living on 12 hour time and AM, PM, so it would be common for a Russian to say семнадцать часов for 5PM. However when you use без десяти час construction you need to use 12 hour time only, and say, for example без пятнадцати пять which could mean both 4:45AM and 4:45PM, depending on the context/time of usage

It depends. For me "без двенадцати час" is quite OK. I can say it like this by myself.

I do not like neglecting precision when it comes to time If someone stops me in the street to ask about the time, and I see 12:48 on my watch, I will definitely say "без двенадцати час" (as I use a mechanic watch). If I used an electronic watch, then I would say "двенадцать - сорок восемь".

Originally Posted by Боб Уайтман

If someone stops me in the street to ask about the time, and I see 12:48 on my watch, I will definitely say "без двенадцати час"

If I would have a mechanical watch I would just say без десяти час, I doubt that I would be able to fight my laziness and reckon exact number of minutes at the moment

Originally Posted by Doomer

If I would have a mechanical watch I would just say без десяти час, I doubt that I would be able to fight my laziness and reckon exact number of minutes at the moment

There is an old joke:

Professor of physics asks a student: "How much is two multiplied by two?"
Student responded: "Four."
Professor: "Yeah, it is really something close to five or six."

Улица 30-я с половиной

Originally Posted by Lampada

Улица 30-я с половиной

2-я седьмая.jpg

One additional question regarding this issue:
1. A house costs 1.5 millions (3.5 millions / 16.5 millions).
- What I will say: Это дом стоит один миллион с половиной (три с половиной миллиона / шестнадцать с половиной миллионов )?
- The use of половина is the approriate in this case?

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

один миллион с половиной

OK, but полтора миллиона is better.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

три с половиной миллиона

Yes.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

шестнадцать с половиной миллионов

Yes.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

The use of половина is the approriate in this case?

Absolutely.