Ему одиноко в новом городе.

in

Breakdown of Ему одиноко в новом городе.

• город: the city
• новый: new
• ему: him

Questions & Answers about Ему одиноко в новом городе.

Why is it ему, not он?

Because Russian often uses the pattern [person in the dative] + state word to express how someone feels.

So ему одиноко literally works like to him, it is lonely or more naturally he feels lonely.

• он = he as the subject
• ему = to him / for him

This is very common with words for physical or emotional states:

• Мне холодно. = I am cold.
• Ей грустно. = She is sad.
• Им скучно. = They are bored.

So in this sentence, Russian is not using a normal subject like English does.

What kind of word is одиноко?

In this sentence, одиноко is not an adjective. It is a predicative word (sometimes also described as an adverb-like state word) meaning a state or condition.

It expresses a feeling or atmosphere:

• Мне одиноко. = I feel lonely.
• Здесь тихо. = It is quiet here.
• Ему трудно. = It is hard for him.

Compare:

• Он одинокий. = He is a lonely person / he is lonely as a characteristic.
• Ему одиноко. = He feels lonely.

So одиноко here describes his emotional state, not a noun.

What is the difference between ему одиноко and он одинок?