29 Comments
is this an alternative way of phrasing тебе шестнадцать лет? or is there some subtle difference
There is a difference. If you're asking "Тебе шестнадцать лет?" then you're just wondering whether or not the person is 16. But with "Тебе есть шестнадцать?" you're asking if the person already is sixteen years old.
- 23
- 22
- 22
- 10
- 7
- 7
- 1113
I see. So if someone is 17, they would still answer yes if it was phrased this way?
- 25
- 21
- 3
> So if someone is 17, they would still answer yes if it was phrased this way?
"Тебе шестнадцать лет?" - нет
"Тебе есть шестнадцать?" - да
- 25
- 25
- 6
- 84
For example---When in any Russian stores you want to buy alcohol or sigarettes a seller will ask you "Excuse me have you turned eighteen?(already) and Show me your passport please!)" Простите вам есть восемнадцать и Покажите свой паспорт пожалуйста.
- 15
- 14
- 14
- 8
- 8
иЗвини(те)*
It is like the difference between "forgive me," and "I am sorry."
- 11
- 9
- 8
- 5
- 4
- 2
есть is a tricky one, it can be both "eat" and "there is" you have kinda guess it by context(although, as far as I've seen, "there is" exists only in infinitive, in past it'd be был/а/о (I am still studying so take all I said with a grain of salt, it is what I think I can remember)
I thought that if 'есть' is not in a 'у' phrase, it means 'eat' and not 'have'. How is that "rule" working here?
- 25
- 13
- 11
- 381
"есть" is the infinitive of "to eat", and also the third person present form of "to be". There is no such "у" phrase rule, but "to be" happens to be the verb that is by far more common when "у" is around.
Here the third person present form of to be is used explicitly. It is omitted in present sentences normally, ("Он учитель" instead of "Он есть учитель" for "he is a teacher"), so that is why seeing "есть" for "to be" without "у" or special emphasis is not so common.
- 15
- 14
- 14
- 8
- 8
The Russian present tense verb есть ("is/are") is omitted in normal circumstances,
Тебе шестнадцать? "Are you sixteen?"
except when used for emphasis,
Тебе есть шестнадцать? "ARE you sixteen [already? yet?]?"
Dare I ask, why is it proposing "have you TURNED sixteen" as a translation? Is it said the same as "are you sixteen?"
- 25
- 25
- 20
- 16
- 15
- 9
- 7
- 2
- 2
Whenever I say шестнадцать into the microphone (in speaking exercises) it never accepts that word, even though my pronunciation is perfect. It must be some mistake, because it only happens with that number and I noticed it in more than one example. I reported it (in a way), hopefully somebody looks into this.
- 25
- 25
- 20
- 16
- 15
- 9
- 7
- 2
- 2
I pronounced it exactly the way it should be pronounced. And yes, the accent is on the middle syllable - на.
- 15
- 14
- 14
- 8
- 8
It should be correct. The word "есть" is normally omitted in the present tense, so it adds emphasis when left in.
Тебе шестнадцать? - Are you sixteen?
Тебе есть шестнадцать? Are you already sixteen? (Colloquially)
