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Dative case in Russian

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In most of the Russian courses, the Russian Dative case is the one you learn in the first weeks when you start talking about age (- Сколько тебе лет? – Мне тридцать, а тебе?). In this article, we are going to talk about the main functions of the Dative case in Russian.

Why is it called “Dative”?

Despite the similarity of the name of the Dative case with the Russian verb “дать”, it appeared not from Russian, but as a translation of the name of the case in Latin – Dativus. Interestingly, the roots of the Latin and Russian words both come from their common ancestor, the Proto-Indo-European language, and share the meaning “to give”.

When do we use the Dative case?

Russian teachers usually give only one meaning of a case at a time, but it is always useful to glance at the list and systematize your knowledge. The Dative is mostly used without prepositions, except prepositions к, по, and согласно.

We use the Dative case in Russian when we:

– receive something or give something to someone

Мне подарили отличный подарок!
I received an amazing present!

Преподаватель дал студентам новое задание.
Teacher gave her students a new task.

– dedicate or metaphorically give something to somebody

Ахматова посвятила стихотворение своему сыну.
Akhmatova dedicated the poem to her son.

Я желаю тебе здоровья и счастья.
I wish you to be healthy and happy.

Она посоветовала своему лучшему другу купить новый автомобиль.
She advised her friend to buy a new car.

– need something

Russian speakers express necessity using the word нужен. The Dative precedes the word and shows who expresses the need.

Мне нужно купить помидоры.
I need to buy tomatoes.

Моей маме нужна помощь.
My mother needs some help.

Нашей начальнице нужен новый секретарь.
My boss needs a new secretary.

– talk about our age

When we talk about someone’s age in Russian, we always use the Dative:

Мне двадцать лет.
I am twenty years old.

Ему всего два года.
He is only two years old.

Моей дочери исполнился год.
My daughter turned one.

– talk about our state

Мне жарко.
I am hot.

Тебе не холодно?
Are you cold?

Моей собаке страшно.
My dog is afraid.

– use prepositions к, по and согласно

Согласно договору, я должен заплатить всю сумму сразу.
According to the contract I need to pay all at once.

Завтра она идёт к стоматологу.
Tomorrow she is going to the dentist.

Мы очень любим гулять по Москве.
We love to walk around Moscow.

As you may see, the Russian Dative case is not as hard as it seems! We hope that our article will help you to learn Russian even better! Good luck with that and don’t hesitate to ask your questions in the comments!

Go to Russian School Russificate to read the full content of Dative case in Russian.


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