Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about После хорошей новости мне стало радостно.
Why is после хорошей новости in the genitive case?
The preposition после always governs the genitive. Here новости is the genitive singular of новость (feminine), and хорошей is its matching genitive singular form of хорошая.
Why is мне in the dative case?
This is an impersonal construction expressing a feeling or state. In Russian, the experiencer is put in the dative with impersonal verbs or predicates: e.g. мне холодно, мне больно, мне приятно. мне стало радостно literally means “it became joyful to me.”
What role does стало play, and why is it in the past tense?
стало is the past tense form of the perfective verb стать (to become). It indicates that the change of state happened at a specific moment. Perfective verbs like стать have only past and future forms, no present tense.
Is радостно an adverb or an adjective here?
Functionally, радостно is a predicative adverb (sometimes called a short neuter adjective form). In impersonal sentences it expresses the resultant state or feeling after стало, rather than modifying another verb.
Can I say я стал радостным instead? What’s the difference?
Yes, я стал радостным is correct: nominative я + predicate adjective in instrumental (радостным). That’s a personal construction (I became joyful). мне стало радостно is impersonal (it became joyful for me) and emphasizes the feeling itself rather than the acting subject.
Could I change the word order to Мне после хорошей новости стало радостно?
Absolutely. Russian word order is quite flexible. The neutral order is После хорошей новости мне стало радостно. Placing мне first would shift the emphasis onto to me, while the original order highlights after the news.
Is после хорошей новости the same as English “after hearing the good news”?
Not word-for-word. после хорошей новости literally means after the good news (a noun phrase). English often uses a participial clause: “after hearing the good news.” In Russian you could also say узнав хорошую новость (having learned the good news), but the noun phrase with после is concise and common.
Why is there no explicit subject in мне стало радостно?
This is an impersonal sentence. стало appears in the neuter singular with no overt subject (sometimes called the “zero subject”). The person experiencing the state goes into the dative (мне). Impersonal constructions are typical for sensations and general states.
How would you express this idea in the future tense?
Since стать is perfective, its future is synthetic: мне станет радостно means I will become joyful. There is no present tense for стать; for progressive meaning you’d use the imperfective становиться: мне становится радостно (I am becoming joyful).