The Dative Case: To Whom? For Whom?
The Dative case is used to indicate the indirect object of a verb – комꙋ or ко́мꙋ an action is done. It is also used after certain verbs and prepositions. Its main purpose is to indicate the recipient of something or the beneficiary of an action. Church Slavonic has singular, dual, and plural forms for the Dative case.
Nouns: Endings change based on gender, number, and hard/soft stem.
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: hard -ꙋ́, soft -ю̀. (e.g., бра́тꙋ - to a brother, да́мъ о҆тцꙋ̀ - I give to a father, селꙋ̀ - to a village, по́лю - to a field).
- Singular Feminine: hard -ѣ́, soft -и. (e.g., сестрѣ̀ - to a sister, землѝ - to the earth).
- Dual (all genders): hard/soft -ма. (e.g., бра́тама - to two brothers, се́страма - to two sisters).
- Plural (all genders): hard/soft -омъ. (e.g., бра́томъ - to brothers, о҆тцє́мъ - to fathers, се́страмъ - to sisters, землѧ́мъ - to lands, се́ломъ - to villages, полѧ́мъ - to fields).
Adjectives (Short/Indefinite):
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: hard -ꙋ́, soft -ю̀. (e.g., до́брꙋ бра́тꙋ - to a good brother, си́ню мо́рю - to the blue sea)
- Singular Feminine: hard -ѣ́, soft -и. (e.g., до́брѣ сестрѣ̀ - to a good sister, си́ни землѝ - to the blue land).
- Dual (all genders): hard/soft -ма. (e.g., до́брыма бра́тама - to two good brothers, си́нима о́чима - to two blue eyes).
- Plural (all genders): hard/soft -омъ. (e.g., до́брымъ бра́томъ - to good brothers, си́нимъ мꙋжє́мъ - to blue men).
Examples: Да́ждь кни́гꙋ бра́тꙋ__ (Give the book to the brother). Глаго́лю оучени́комъ__ (I am speaking to the students). Идꙋ̀ къ сестрѣ̀__ (I am going to the sister). Пишꙋ̀ писмо̀ роди́телємъ__ (I am writing a letter to the parents).