The Dative Case: To Whom? For Whom?
The Dative case is used to indicate the indirect object of a verb – кому́ or для кого́ an action is done. It is also used after certain verbs and prepositions. Its main purpose is to show the recipient of something or the beneficiary of an action.
Nouns: Endings change based on gender, number, and hard/soft stem.
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: -у / -ю. (e.g., бра́ту - to a brother, да́ю учи́телю - I give to a teacher, го́роду - to a city, по́лю - to a field).
- Singular Feminine: -е (after hard consonant) / -и (after soft consonant/vowel). (e.g., сестре́ - to a sister, земле́ - to the earth, ма́тери - to a mother).
- Plural (all genders): -ам / -ям. (e.g., братья́м - to brothers, учи́телям - to teachers, сёстрам - to sisters, зем́лям - to lands, города́м - to cities, поля́м - to fields).
Adjectives:
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: hard -ому, soft -ему / -ему́. (e.g., до́брому бра́ту - to a good brother, си́нему учи́телю - to a blue teacher)
- Singular Feminine: ending -ой (hard) / -ей (soft). (e.g., до́брой сестре́ - to a good sister, си́ней же́нщине - to a blue woman)
- Plural (all genders): hard -ым, soft -им. (e.g., до́брым братья́м - to good brothers, си́ним учи́телям - to blue teachers)
Examples: Дай кни́гу бра́ту (Give the book to the brother). Я говорю́ студе́нтам__ (I am speaking to the students). Я пишу́ письмо́ роди́телям__ (I am writing a letter to the parents).