Learn Hardcore Russian: Профессор дал студентам домашнее задание после экзамена. - The professor gave the students homework after the exam.

“Студентам” is in the dative case because it indicates the indirect object—the recipients of the action. In Russian, when someone gives something to someone, the person receiving the item is marked with the dative case, much like “to the students” in English.

What case is “домашнее задание” in, and why does its form not change from the nominative?

“Домашнее задание” is functioning as the direct (accusative) object of the verb “дал.” However, because “задание” is an inanimate neuter noun and its accusative form is identical to its nominative in this context, its appearance remains the same as if it were nominative.

Why is the adjective “домашнее” in the neuter form?

The adjective “домашнее” is in neuter form to agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies, “задание,” which is a neuter noun. In Russian, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe.

How is the phrase “после экзамена” constructed, and why is “экзамена” in the genitive case?

“После экзамена” is a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial modifier of time, telling us when the action occurred. The preposition “после” (after) always takes the genitive case, so “экзамен” becomes “экзамена” in the genitive singular.

The verb “дал” is in the past tense. How does it reflect the subject’s gender?

In Russian, past tense verbs agree with the subject’s gender. The form “дал” is masculine, which matches “профессор,” a masculine noun. If the subject were feminine, the verb would have taken the feminine form “дала.”

Russian doesn’t use articles like “the” or “a.” How should this be understood in this sentence compared to English?

Unlike English, Russian doesn’t have articles. Words like “профессор,” “студентам,” and “домашнее задание” stand on their own without words like “the” or “a.” The definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context rather than from a dedicated article.