7

By integer numbers the rule is more or less clear:

  • 1,21,.. год,
  • 2,3,4,22,...года,
  • 5,6,...,19...лет.

How about decimal numbers? does one easily take the integer part of the number before the noun and decline accordingly? or do the decimal numbers have some influence in the case?

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6

When reading decimal fractions you should pronounce nominal adjectives целая and десятая (or сотая, тысячная etc.) which define an implied noun часть.

This implied noun governs the object which hence should be in sg. gen.

For instance, "2.7 meters" would translate into Russian as две целых семь десятых (частей) метра.

Written with numerals, it would be 2.7 метра.

And of course a Rosenthal quote (СППЛР, § 164.8):

Правильными являются конструкции 35,5 процента (не: … процентов), 12,6 километра (не: … километров), т. е. при смешанном числе существительным управляет дробь, а не целое число.

Также: 45,0 (сорок пять и ноль десятых) секунды, 6 7/8 (шесть и семь восьмых) метра и т. п.

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  • Is 2,7 метра not pronounced in speech as два семь метра? At a restaurant in Moscow, I heard the juice size 0,5 liters pronounced as нуль пять.
    – KCd
    Oct 21, 2012 at 3:50
  • 2
    @KCd No, "два семь метра" is never used, "два и семь метра" is used, meaning "два и семь десятых метра"; but with zero "и" is usually omitted, so "ноль семь метра" is OK.
    – user507
    Oct 21, 2012 at 7:48

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