DATIVE CASE

In a sentence the Dative case often indicates an indirect object: a person or object to whom the action is directed.

• Позвони мне!
• Скажи мне!
• Дай мне!

In the Dative case nouns and pronouns answer the questions: To whom? To what?

I LIKE

The construction "Мне нравится… " (I like) or "Мне не нравится…" (I don’t like) is used to express the speaker's attitude toward an object or action. In this construction a logical subject is expressed by a noun or pronoun in the Dative case while an object is expressed by a noun or pronoun in the Nominative case.

Consider the sentence structure in the following examples:

Attention!The verb form has to agree with the noun in the Nominative case.

Let's see how you can ask and answer such questions:

• – Тебе́ нра́вятся блины́?
• – Да. // Да, нра́вятся. // Да, мне нра́вятся блины́.

• – Вам нра́вится омле́т?
• – Нет. // Нет, не нра́вится. // Нет, мне не нра́вится омле́т.

To convey an attitude to an action using the construction with the verb "нравиться" (to like), follow the verb "нравиться" (in the form нравится) with the infinitive form of the verb which indicates the action itself:

• Мне нра́вится чи́тать.
• Тебе́ нра́вится обе́дать здесь?
• Ему не нра́вится пить во́ду.

ACCUSATIVE CASE

A noun or pronoun in the Accusative case indicates a direct object. Verbs "читать" (to read), "понимать" (to understand), "to know" (знать), "любить" (to love or like) will be followed by the noun or pronoun in the Accusative case. Nouns or pronouns in the Accusative case answer the question: "what?" or "whom?"

The question "what?" is asked when the inanimate noun serves as an object, and the question "whom?" refers to an object that is either a human being or an animal.

• – Что ты хо́чешь?
• – Я хочу́ сала́т.

• – Кого́ ты зна́ешь?
• – Я зна́ю А́нну.

For inanimate masculine nouns, as well as neuter nouns, the Accusative case endings coincide with the Nominative case endings:

Masculine nouns

Neuter nouns:

However, for feminine nouns both animate and inanimate the Accusative case endings will be different:

Please, note! For masculine and feminine nouns which end in "–Ь", the Accusative case endings stay the same.

To find out how animate masculine noun endings change in the Accusative case, see Lesson 5.

Personal pronouns in the Accusative case have special forms.

Compare: