Dative in Russian: recipient and age expressions
How it works
In Russian, the dative (‹дательный падеж›) is used to express the recipient of an action, for example with ‹дать маме книгу›. In addition, in expressions of age the person stands in the dative, for example ‹мне 13 лет›. The dative form usually answers the question ‹кому?›; in age expressions one asks, for example, ‹Сколько тебе лет?› Typical dative endings are ‹-у/-ю› in many masculine and neuter nouns in the singular, ‹-е› in many feminine nouns ending in ‹-а/-я› in the singular, and ‹-ам/-ям› in the plural. The dative is also used after certain verbs such as ‹помогать› or ‹звонить›. In age expressions, the following also applies: after numbers with final digit ‹2/3/4›, ‹года› usually stands, but with ‹11–14› always ‹лет›.
In Russian, the dative is used for the recipient of an action and for age expressions. After ‹дать›, the recipient stands in the dative. In age expressions, the person stands in the dative; for example, one says ‹мне 1 год›, ‹тебе 2 года›, ‹ему 4 года›, but ‹ей 5 лет› and ‹мне 13 лет›.
An example
Choose the correct Russian translation for: 'I give the friend a book.' Complete: ‹Я даю ... книгу.›
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: Russian. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.