Vtroe or na tret: times over and by a part
V plus a number speaks of times over — how many times: vdvoe, vtroe, v dva raza. Na plus a number speaks of a part added: na tret, na pyat rubley. For example: “Билеты подорожали втрое, а хлеб — на треть” — The tickets tripled in price, and bread — by a third. A rule from the Russian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
V plus a number speaks of times over — how many times: vdvoe, vtroe, v dva raza. Na plus a number speaks of a part added: na tret, na pyat rubley.
Mixing them costs money. Vtroe dorozhe — the price tripled; na tret dorozhe — a third was added.
Parts live in a family of their own: polovina, tret, chetvert. After them the noun answers of what: tret chasa, polovina rasstoyaniya.
In living speech times over usually goes through raz: v dva raza, v tri raza. Everyone says it, and it is safer than the bookish vdvoyne.
Table
| What we mean | How it is built | Example |
|---|---|---|
| times over | v plus the number | vtroe bystree |
| a part added | na plus the number | na tret dorozhe |
| a part | a word of its own | polovina arbuza |
| a part with a count | tret plus the of-form | tret chasa |
| the everyday variant | v N raz | v dva raza menshe |
By example
- Билеты подорожали втрое, а хлеб — на третьBilety podorozhali vtroe, a khleb — na tretThe tickets tripled in price, and bread — by a third
- Треть часа они ждали у входаTret chasa oni zhdali u vkhodaFor a third of an hour they waited by the entrance
- Половина класса пошла в походPolovina klassa poshla v pokhodHalf the class went on the hike
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Vtroe vs na tret?
V plus a number speaks of times over — how many times: vdvoe, vtroe, v dva raza. Na plus a number speaks of a part added: na tret, na pyat rubley.
How to say "two times cheaper" in one word?
V plus a number speaks of times over — how many times: vdvoe, vtroe, v dva raza. Na plus a number speaks of a part added: na tret, na pyat rubley.
The question after tret and polovina?
Parts live in a family of their own: polovina, tret, chetvert. After them the noun answers of what: tret chasa, polovina rasstoyaniya.
Another way to say v dva raza?
V plus a number speaks of times over — how many times: vdvoe, vtroe, v dva raza. Na plus a number speaks of a part added: na tret, na pyat rubley.
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Билеты подорожали втрое, а хлеб — на треть” (Bilety podorozhali vtroe, a khleb — na tret) — The tickets tripled in price, and bread — by a third. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.