Breakdown of Я поздравляю подругу с днём рождения.
я
I
с
with
поздравлять
to congratulate
подруга
the female friend
день рождения
the birthday
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Questions & Answers about Я поздравляю подругу с днём рождения.
Why is it подругу, not подруга?
Because it’s the direct object of the verb. Russian uses the Accusative case for direct objects. Feminine nouns ending in -а/-я take -у/-ю in the Accusative singular: подруга → подругу. This happens whether the noun is animate or inanimate (e.g., луна → луну).
Why do we use с here, and which case follows it?
The verb pattern is поздравлять/поздравить кого с чем (“to congratulate someone on something”). After с in this meaning, the “thing” takes the Instrumental case: с днём.
Why is it днём and not день?
Because с requires the Instrumental case here. День (Nom.) → днём (Instr.). So we get с днём.
Why is it рождения, not рождение or рождением?
День рождения is literally “day of birth,” where рождения is Genitive (“of birth”) modifying день. Only the head noun день changes to the Instrumental (днём) after с; the dependent рождения stays Genitive. Don’t say с днём рождением.
Can I drop Я?
Yes. Russian often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. Поздравляю подругу с днём рождения is perfectly natural. As a set phrase, people also just say Поздравляю!
Should I add “my,” as in мою подругу?
Optional. If context already makes it clear whose friend, you can omit it. If you want to specify, say мою подругу. Even more natural when the subject is the possessor is the reflexive: свою подругу. Examples:
- Я поздравляю мою/свою подругу с днём рождения.
What if the friend is male?
Use друг. Because masculine animate nouns have Accusative = Genitive in the singular, it becomes друга:
- Я поздравляю друга с днём рождения.
What’s the difference between поздравляю, поздравлю, and поздравил/поздравила?
- поздравляю: present/imperfective (I congratulate/I am congratulating; also used as a formula).
- поздравлю: future/perfective (I will congratulate—one-time, completed action).
- поздравил/поздравила: past/perfective (I congratulated). The past shows the speaker’s gender.
Can I change the word order?
Yes. Russian word order is flexible and used for emphasis:
- Neutral: Я поздравляю подругу с днём рождения.
- Focusing the person: Подругу я поздравляю с днём рождения.
- Focusing the occasion: С днём рождения я поздравляю подругу. The meaning stays the same; the emphasis shifts.
How do I just say “Happy birthday!” to someone?
Use the set phrase С днём рождения! With a name in direct address: С днём рождения, Маша!
Why not Dative (подруге) after поздравляю?
Because the verb governs the direct object in the Accusative: поздравлять кого. Some verbs do take Dative (e.g., помогать подруге, звонить подруге), but поздравлять is not one of them.
What’s going on with the letter ё in днём?
Ё is always pronounced “yo” and is always stressed. In print, you’ll often see it written as е (so днём may appear as днем), but the pronunciation stays “dnyóm”.
How do I pronounce с днём and that дн- cluster?
In natural speech, с before a voiced consonant like д voices to [z], so с днём sounds like “zdnyóm.” The дн- cluster is pronounced smoothly: “dn” with a palatalized н.
Does подруга mean “girlfriend” (romantic)?
Usually no—it means a female friend. For a romantic partner you’d typically say девушка (girlfriend) or парень (boyfriend).
What’s the difference between с днём рождения, на день рождения, and к дню рождения?
- с днём рождения: used with congratulations (I congratulate you on…).
- на день рождения: “to/for the birthday” (e.g., go to the party; a gift intended for that occasion: подарок на день рождения).
- к дню рождения: “by/for the birthday (deadline/occasion)” (e.g., подготовлю подарок к дню рождения).