Dative Case — To / For
Dative Case (Дательный падеж)
Answers кому? чему? (to whom? to what?)
Used for:
- Indirect object (giving something TO someone)
- Age expressions: Мне … лет (I am … years old)
- Feelings/states: Мне холодно (I am cold)
- After prepositions: к (towards), по (along/by)
Dative Endings
| Gender | Nominative | Pronunciation | Dative | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | студент | stoo-DYENT | студенту | stoo-DYEN-too |
| Masculine (-й) | музей | moo-ZYEY | музею | moo-ZYE-yoo |
| Feminine (-а) | книга | KNEEga | книге | KNEEgye |
| Feminine (-я) | земля | zyem-LYA | земле | zyem-LYE |
| Neuter | окно | ak-NO | окну | ak-NOO |
Key Patterns
Indirect object:
- Я дал книгу студенту. (ya dal KNEEgoo stoo-DYEN-too) (I gave the book to the student.)
Age:
- Мне двадцать лет. (mnye DVAtsat’ lyet) (I am 20 years old.)
- Ей тридцать лет. (yey TREEtsat’ lyet) (She is 30 years old.)
Feelings/states (dative of person):
- Мне холодно. (mnye KHOladna) (I am cold.)
- Тебе интересно? (tye-BYE in-tye-RYES-na?) (Are you interested?)
- Ему скучно. (ye-MOO SKOOCHna) (He is bored.)
Practice
How do you say 'I am 25 years old' in Russian?
Мне двадцать пять лет. (dative of я = мне)
Dative of студент (male student)?
студенту
Translate: Ей нравится музыка.
She likes music. (lit: music is pleasing to her)