Я покажу другу красивую картину.

I will show a beautiful painting to a friend.

Breakdown of Я покажу другу красивую картину.

• друг: the friend
• я: I
• красивый: beautiful
• картина: the painting
• показать: to show

Questions & Answers about Я покажу другу красивую картину.

Why is "другу" in the dative case rather than the nominative or accusative?

In Russian, the indirect object—the person receiving the action—is generally expressed in the dative case. Here, "другу" (from "друг") is in the dative, indicating that the friend is the recipient of the picture being shown.

Why is "картину" in the accusative case?

"Картину" serves as the direct object of the verb "показать." In Russian, direct objects are usually in the accusative case. Since "картина" is a feminine noun and its accusative form is "картину," this is why it appears in that case.

What does the form "красивую" tell us about the adjective’s agreement with the noun?

Russian adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. Since "картина" is a feminine singular noun in the accusative, the adjective "красивый" takes the feminine singular accusative ending, becoming "красивую." This agreement shows that "красивую" directly describes "картину."

What is the tense and aspect of the verb "покажу," and how does it affect the sentence’s meaning?

"Покажу" is the first person singular form of the perfective verb "показать," which is used here in the future tense. The perfective aspect indicates a completed, one-time action, so "Я покажу" means "I will show." Unlike English, Russian uses a specific conjugated form to express this future, rather than using an auxiliary verb.

Why is the indirect object ("другу") placed before the direct object ("картину") in this sentence?

Russian allows for flexible word order because each noun’s role is clearly marked by its case ending. While both "Я покажу другу красивую картину" and "Я покажу красивую картину другу" are grammatically correct, placing the indirect object first can add emphasis on the recipient or follow a conventional word order that many native speakers prefer.