Learning the Dative Case in Russian: Grammar Essentials

Russian is the most widely spoken Slavic language, with just over 250 million native speakers. Although many people find it difficult to learn, an additional 120 million non-native speakers have mastered the language. To help you gain the ability to communicate in Russian, it's important to understand the case system and how each one shapes sentence structure. In this article, we'll cover some of the most important aspects of learning the Russian dative case.

What is the Russian Dative Case?

The dative case in Russian is primarily used to talk about the indirect object but is also commonly used to discuss physical or emotional state. Other situations also require the dative state, but the primary question it answers is to whom or to what. You can change Russian words to be in the dative regardless of whether they're nouns or pronouns, but here we'll focus primarily on the nouns. 

Noun Endings in the Russian Dative Case

In the Russian dative case, noun endings change from their original form in the nominative case. The endings change based on gender and number. While the changes in the accusative case only apply to animate nouns, all noun endings change in the dative case. 

For masculine nouns, the following changes occur:

• Consonants > consonant + у
• й ending > ю
• ь ending > ю

For neuter nouns, the following changes occur: 

• о ending > у
• е ending > ю
• мя ending > мени

For feminine nouns, the following changes occur in the Russian dative case:

• а ending > е
• я ending > е
• ия > ии
• ь ending > и

For plural nouns, the gender doesn't matter. The changes are based only on the ending of the noun. So, the following occurs when you want to speak about a plural dative noun:

• Consonants > consonant + ам
• а endings > ам
• о ending > ам
• й ending > ям
• ь ending > ям
• я endings > ям
• e ending > ям

Examples of the Dative Case in Russian Grammar

Here are a few examples of using the dative case in Russian with masculine nouns: 

• Я подарил другу книгу на день рождения. — I gave a book to my friend for his birthday.
• Он помог брату с уроками математики. — He helped his brother with math homework.
• Мы пригласили дяде в гости на выходные. — We invited our uncle over for the weekend.
• Он показал папе свою новую игрушку. — He showed his dad his new toy.
• Он отправил письмо деду с поздравлениями. — He sent a letter to his grandfather with congratulations.

Here are a few examples of using the Russian dative case with neuter nouns: 

• Она подарила ребенку мячик на день рождения. — She gave a ball to the child for their birthday.
• Мы дали животному воду и еду. — We gave water and food to the animal.
• Он показал окну новые занавески. — He showed the window the new curtains.
• Мы посадили дереву новые цветы. — We planted new flowers near the tree.
• Он подошел к плакату и прочитал его внимательно. — He approached the poster and read it carefully.

Here are some examples of feminine nouns in the Russian dative case: 

• Он подарил маме букет цветов на международный женский день. — He gave a bouquet of flowers to his mom for International Women's Day.
• Она помогла сестре с уроками английского языка. — She helped her sister with English homework.
• Мы пригласили бабушке в ресторан на юбилей. — We invited our grandmother to a restaurant for her anniversary.
• Он подарил подруге красивое кольцо на день святого Валентина. — He gave his girlfriend a beautiful ring for Valentine's Day.
• Она отправила письмо учительнице с благодарностью за помощь. — She sent a letter to her teacher with gratitude for the help.

Can you see how the nouns change in the plural dative form?

• Мы подарили друзьям билеты в кино на их день рождения. — We gave tickets to the movies to our friends for their birthday.
• Они помогли учителям подготовиться к встрече родителей. — They helped the teachers prepare for the parent meeting.
• Мы пригласили родственникам на вечеринку по случаю новоселья. — We invited our relatives to the housewarming party.
• Они подарили соседям коробку конфет на праздник. — They gave a box of candies to their neighbors for the holiday.
• Мы отправили письма с фотографиями друзьям после поездки. — We sent letters with photos to our friends after the trip.

When to Use the Dative Case in Russian

There are a few other times when you'd use the Russian dative case aside from with the indirect object of a sentence. These can get tricky for native English speakers, but practicing with a native Russian speaker can help! Download Tandem to learn how to use all of the Russian cases in conversation today. Until then, try to familiarize yourself with some of the indications for dative nouns listed below.

1. To Talk About Your Age

The Russian dative case is used when you're talking about the age of a noun or a pronoun. You can see some of these in the examples below: 

• Моему другу сегодня исполнилось двадцать один год. — Today my friend turned twenty-one.
• Я подарил своей бабушке часы, потому что ей исполнилось семьдесят лет. — I gave my grandmother a watch because she turned seventy.
• Моему сыну уже исполнилось пять лет, и он уже ходит в школу. — My son turned five already, and he's already going to school.
• Моей собаке вчера исполнилось три года, и мы устроили ей праздник. — My dog turned three yesterday, and we threw her a party.
• Моей сестре скоро исполнится восемнадцать лет, и она уже думает о своем будущем. — My sister will turn eighteen soon, and she's already thinking about her future.

2. To Talk About Your Likes and Dislikes

The Russian dative case is used to talk about things that someone (or something) likes and dislikes. The part of the sentence that will change into the dative form is the person or thing that is doing the liking or disliking. Some examples include the following:

• Моему другу нравится играть в футбол. — My friend likes playing soccer.
• Моей сестре не нравится есть овощи. — My sister doesn't like eating vegetables.
• Моему брату нравится слушать музыку. — My brother likes listening to music.
• Моей кошке нравится спать на солнце. — My cat likes sleeping in the sun.
• Моему племяннику нравится рисовать картины. — My nephew likes painting pictures.

3. To Talk About Your Feelings, States, and Emotions

The dative case in Russian is used to identify the state of the subject, which can be either physical or emotional. So, if you want to say that someone is happy, sad, bored, tired, hot, cold, excited, etc., that subject will transform into a dative form. Some examples include: 

• Моей матери холодно, она хочет надеть пальто. —My mother is cold; she wants to put on a coat.
• Моему другу грустно из-за провала на экзамене. — My friend is sad because of failing the exam.
• Моему брату сегодня тяжело встать с кровати. — My brother finds it hard to get out of bed today.
• Моему сыну весело играть с новой игрушкой. — My son enjoys playing with his new toy.
• Моей собаке удобно лежать на коврике перед камином. — My dog is comfortable lying on the rug in front of the fireplace.

4. To Talk About Your Needs

The Russian dative case can also be used to talk about the needs of a subject. Essentially, anytime you have the word "need" in a sentence, it's a good indication that the dative case should be used. Some examples include the following: 

• Моему другу нужна помощь с уроками математики. — My friend needs help with math homework.
• Моей собаке нужен новый ошейник. — My dog needs a new collar.
• Моему брату нужен отдых после тяжелого дня на работе. — My brother needs rest after a hard day at work.
• Моей сестре нужны новые книги для подготовки к экзаменам. — My sister needs new books to prepare for exams.
• Моему сыну нужно больше времени на игру на свежем воздухе. — My son needs more time to play outdoors.

5. When Paired with Certain Verbs

There are also several verbs that go hand-in-hand with the dative case. In the Russian language, certain verbs will always indicate a specific case. Here are some of the most common Russian dative verbs to memorize and practice: 

давать (to give)

• Мама даёт мне подарок. — Mom is giving me a gift.

помогать (to help)

• Я помогаю брату с уроками. — I'm helping my brother with his homework.

говорить (to speak)

• Я говорю тебе правду. — I'm telling you the truth.

писать (to write)

• Я пишу ей письмо. — I'm writing her a letter.

отвечать (to answer)

• Он отвечает учительнице на вопросы. — He's answering the teacher's questions.

подарить (to give as a present)

• Я подарил своему другу книгу. — I gave my friend a book as a present.

рассказывать (to tell)

• Она рассказывает друзьям интересные истории. — She tells her friends interesting stories.

показывать (to show)

• Он показывает мне свою новую игрушку. — He's showing me his new toy.

объяснять (to explain)

• Учитель объясняет студентам новую тему. — The teacher explains the new topic to the students.

слушать (to listen)

• Мы слушаем музыку вместе с друзьями. — We're listening to music with friends.

верить (to believe)

• Я верю тебе. — I believe you.

сказать (to say)

• Он сказал мне "спасибо". — He said "thank you" to me.

нравиться (to like)

• Мне нравится этот фильм. — I like this movie.

подходить (to suit)

• Эта куртка подходит моему брату. — This jacket suits my brother.

пожелать (to wish)

• Я желаю тебе удачи. — I wish you good luck.

6. When Paired with Certain Prepositions

Nouns in the dative case are also used with certain prepositions. Most often, these prepositions talk about a subject area or movement. Some of the examples include the following:

К (to, towards)

• Я иду к другу. — I am going to a friend.

По (on, at, along)

• Они гуляли по парку. — They walked along the park.

Благодаря (thanks to)

• Они успешны благодаря усилиям своим родителей. — They are successful thanks to the efforts of their parents.

Вопреки (against, despite of)

• Она пошла гулять вопреки плохому настроению. — She went for a walk despite the bad mood.

Согласно (according to)

• Согласно докладу, инфляция снизилась. — According to the report, inflation has decreased.

наперерез (across from, opposite to)

• Он сидел наперерез от меня за столом. — He was sitting across from me at the table.

To help you master all of the different ways to use the Russian dative case, download Tandem. With millions of members worldwide, you can match with a Russian speaker anywhere you live or travel. Having real-world conversations with like-minded individuals will help you build your skills, from basic Russian pronunciation to Russian slang words and everything in between. Who knows, you might even make some lifelong friends along the way! All you need to do is create a profile, match with a native speaker of your target language, and start communicating. Sign up for Tandem today to join our community and improve your fluency.