# All Slavic: She is three years older than me.



## Encolpius

Hello, I wonder how you quantify difference in Slavic languages. How would you translate: She is *three years older* than me? Thanks.
In Russian you can use a preposition or an instrumental. In Czech using instrumental case is impossible (I think). 

A) Она старше меня *на три года*.  Czech: Je ode me *o tři roky starší*.  Slovak: Je odo mňa *o tri roky staršia*.

B) Она *тремя годами* стaрше меня.


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## Karton Realista

Polish:
A) Ona jest ode mnie trzy lata starsza.

You can also say "różnimy się trzema latami". But that's a different sentence.


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## Encolpius

Interesting you don't use any preposition. Is that (trzy lata)  accusative, i.e.: Jest ode mnie jedną godzinę starsza.


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## Karton Realista

Encolpius said:


> Interesting you don't use any preposition. Is that (trzy lata)  accusative, i.e.: Jest ode mnie jedną godzinę starsza.


You can use "o" here, but most people don't.
It's not accusative. It's an adverbial expression, as far as I'm aware, adverbs don't have cases.
I'd thought you'd ask about that.


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## Encolpius

then this sentence is false: Jest ode mnie jedną godzinę starsza.


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## Karton Realista

Encolpius said:


> then this sentence is false: Jest ode mnie jedną godzinę starsza.


No, not at all. It's OK. I would just say "godzinę starsza", not "jedną godzinę starsza".
And in this case I would say " ode mnie " at the end of this sentence.
Some things are just matter of usage, not really falling under some clear and evident rules.


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## Encolpius

Yes, I think it would be better without one in all languages.


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## Karton Realista

@Encolpius Quick correction: it is actually accusative and not an adverb. I don't even know what came over me. I was confused because in this sentence it both serves a role and answers the questions of an adverb.


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## ilocas2

Encolpius said:


> Czech: Je ode me *o tři roky starší*.



This sentence is wrong (*mě*, not me) and it sounds awkwardly. The most natural sounding is *Je o tři roky starší než já*.

Now Encolpius will quote Karton Realista's post to show that he "ignores" me.


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## Karton Realista

ilocas2 said:


> The most natural sounding is *Je o tři roky starší než já*.


Similiar sentence can be created in Polish: Jest trzy lata starszy (starsza? is starší a feminine form in Czech???) niż ja.
But it sounds more descriptive than the "ode" version.


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## ilocas2

Karton Realista said:


> is starší a feminine form in Czech???



Yes, these adjectives have -í in nominative singular and plural in all genders

Czech adjectives fall into three categories - hard, soft and possessive
[Mod note: quote are limited to 4 lines. You can add a link to your source]


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## Panceltic

Slovene:

Od mene je starejša tri leta.
Tri leta je starejša kot jaz. (a bit awkward)


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## Encolpius

Very interesting you use "od mene", I wonder other Slavic languages know it, too.


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## Panceltic

Well, it is the same as 'ode mnie' or 'odo mňa' mentioned above - preposition _od_ + genetive of pronoun _jaz_.


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## Encolpius

Yes, but I am not a native Slavic speaker so I am not sure if that is right in Slovak either. Off-topic anyway. The thing is we have the same thing in Hungarian and found some discussion in Hungarian sites that is not correct. I bet it might be a Germanism or what.


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## DarkChild

Encolpius said:


> Very interesting you use "od mene", I wonder other Slavic languages know it, too.


Same in Bulgarian.

Тя е (с) три години по-голяма от мен/е.


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## Милан

Serbian
Она је три године старија од мене.
Старија је од мене три године.
Од мене је старија три године.


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## Encolpius

Thank you very much, now it is evident, the form "from me" phrase is well-known in Southern Slavic languages.


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## Karton Realista

Encolpius said:


> Yes, but I am not a native Slavic speaker so I am not sure if that is right in Slovak either.


"(...) Bola iba o necelé tri roky staršia odo mňa a študovala na mníchovskej (...)" - "*Tretiemu chlieb**",* Katarína Dérová
"Môj priateľ je odo mňa o 7 rokov starší, mne osobne sa vždy viac páčili zrelší" - some blog/comment on a webisite
"Moj manzel je odo mna starsi o 17 rokov, zobrali sme sa po rocnej znamosti" - see above
"(...) moja gazdiná, ale je mi ako mama, a jej dcérou Jenny, ktorá je odo mňa staršia o tri roky a práve končí univerzitu (...)" - Heart & Wild: Jediný okamih, Nattie A. Rose


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## Encolpius

Thanks Karton, but ilocas2 is a native and refused my version. Discussing the whole Czech issue would deserve a Czech forum discussion. Or maybe we can wait for other natives. I agree his version is the correct one but I am unsure about my version, you can find it on the net, too.


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## Panceltic

I am not a native, but I think that the Czech sentence should have "ode mne" (while "ode mě" is also an option). Is this right?


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## Encolpius

The problem is not "ode mne", it was a typo, but if that construction exists at all.


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## bibax

Panceltic said:


> I am not a native, but I think that the Czech sentence should have "ode mne" (while "ode mě" is also an option). Is this right?


Yes, in Literary Czech we use the "long" forms of the personal pronoun after a preposition:
ode mne, od tebe, od sebe; (the "short" enclitic forms are: mě, tě, se < sě)
(similarly in dative: mně - mi, tobě - ti, sobě - si; thus ke mně, k tobě, k sobě, and not k mi/ti/si)
(there are no short foms in prepostional/locative and instrumental)


Encolpius said:


> The problem is not "ode mne", it was a typo, but if that construction exists at all.


Yes, it exists. It is common in some regions.

_"Měli dceru *o rok starší ode mne* a malého nezbedného Jarouška. Dobře jsem je poznala, ..."_ (from a chronicle, written in perfect Czech)


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## ilocas2

Panceltic said:


> I am not a native, but I think that the Czech sentence should have "ode mne" (while "ode mě" is also an option). Is this right?



I noticed this comment just now.

Both ode mě and ode mne are correct. Ode mě is used more.


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## Encolpius

bibax said:


> Yes, it exists. It is common in some regions.
> _"Měli dceru *o rok starší ode mne* a malého nezbedného Jarouška. Dobře jsem je poznala, ..."_ (from a chronicle, written in perfect Czech)



Thanks, Bibax. Now I wonder what Slovaks will write about the Slovak version.


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## 123xyz

Macedonian:

*1. Три години е постара од мене *(neutral, common)* - *here, there's no preposition before the phrase "three years", and no case, because Macedonian doesn't have cases except the vocative.
*2. Три години сме разлика *(a bit colloquial but not necessarily) *- *this literally means "three years are-we difference" 



> Yes, I think it would be better without one in all languages.



In Macedonian, it is preferable for "one" to be included:

*1. Една година е постара од мене *- here, I think it's obligatory (perhaps some Macedonians might find dropping "one" tolerable, but I think that most of them would find it weird)
*2. Една година сме разлика - *here, dropping "one" wouldn't change much


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## Karton Realista

123xyz said:


> *1. Една година е постара од мене *- here, I think it's obligatory (perhaps some Macedonians might find dropping "one" tolerable, but I think that most of them would find it weird)
> *2. Една година сме разлика - *here, dropping "one" wouldn't change much


Polish godzina means hour, and Macedonian година is a year, right? Would changing year into hour in your example change anything?


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## 123xyz

> Polish godzina means hour, and Macedonian година is a year, right? Would changing year into hour in your example change anything?



Yes, that's correct. Changing "year" into "hour" would make the sentence semantically anomalous (we wouldn't really say "she's an hour older than me", but rather "she was born one hour after me"), but otherwise, the numeral "one" wouldn't be affected:

*Еден саат/час е постара од мене*
*Еден саат/час сме разлика* (without specific context, no one would understand this to mean that we were born one hour apart, but rather that she came one hour earlier/later, or something like that; this is even odder than the above when talking about age)


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## Karton Realista

123xyz said:


> Changing "year" into "hour" would make the sentence semantically anomalous (we wouldn't really say "she's an hour older than me", but rather "she was born one hour after me")


Well, in Polish colloquial speech that wouldn't even sound awkward (to me). Other Polish speakers may have different opinions and sensibilities .


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