Questions & Answers about Я дам тебе адрес завтра.
Why does дам mean “will give” without any form of буду?
Russian uses the present tense of perfective verbs to express a single, completed future action. Дать is perfective, so я дам = “I will give.” You cannot say буду дать. If you want a repeated/ongoing future, use the imperfective: я буду давать (“I will be giving / will give repeatedly”).
What’s the difference between дать and давать?
- Дать (perfective): one-time, completed act. Example: Я дам тебе адрес завтра.
- Давать (imperfective): process, habit, or repeated action. Example: Я буду давать тебе адреса каждый день.
Why is it тебе and not тебя?
Because the recipient of “giving” is in the dative case. Дать кому? — тебе (dative). The thing given is in the accusative: дать что? — адрес.
What case is адрес in, and why doesn’t it change?
Accusative (direct object). For masculine inanimate nouns like адрес, the accusative form is identical to the nominative, so it stays адрес.