Learn Hardcore Russian: Какой фильм тебе особенно нравится?

Тебе is the dative form of “you” (informal singular). The verb нравиться (“to be pleasing”) requires the dative case for the person who likes something.

Literally, the sentence is:

Какой фильм тебе особенно нравится?
= “Which film is especially pleasing to you?”

So in this structure:

The thing that is liked (the film) is the subject.
The person who likes it (“you”) is in the dative: тебе = to you.

Forms of “you” (informal singular):

ты – nominative (subject: you do something)
тебя – genitive/accusative (of you, I see you)
тебе – dative (to you, for you)

Since Russian thinks of it as “The film pleases to you”, you need тебе.

Why нравится and not любишь? Both mean “like”, right?

Both нравиться and любить can translate as “to like,” but they’re used differently.

нравиться (reflexive verb, here: нравится)
- Literal idea: “to be pleasing to someone.”
- Requires dative for the person: мне, тебе, ему…
- Neutral, common for “like” in everyday speech.
- Example: Этот фильм мне нравится. – “I like this film.”
любить (non‑reflexive, here: любишь)
- Stronger: “to love” or “to really like.”
- Takes a direct object in the accusative.
- Example: Ты любишь этот фильм? – “Do you love this film? / Do you like this film (a lot)?”

You could ask:

Какой фильм ты любишь больше всего? – “Which film do you love the most?”

But the original sentence with нравится is more neutral and very idiomatic: “Which film do you especially like?”

Why does the verb end in -ся (нравится) and what does that mean?

The -ся ending marks a reflexive verb in Russian. It often changes the meaning compared to the non‑reflexive form.

нравить (without -ся) is rarely used in modern speech.
нравиться (with -ся) is the standard verb meaning “to be pleasing (to someone), to be liked.”

The reflexive form нравиться behaves differently from English “to like”:

Russian: Film pleases to you →
Фильм тебе нравится.
English: You like the film.

Because of this structure:

The thing liked is the subject: фильм нравится.
The person who likes it is in dative: тебе.

So the -ся here is not “yourself” in a literal sense; it’s part of the verb’s dictionary form and grammar pattern.

Why is it нравится (singular) and not нравятся?

The verb нравиться agrees with the thing that is liked, not with the person.

In the sentence:

фильм is singular → the verb is singular: нравится.

If the subject were plural, you’d use нравятся:

Какие фильмы тебе особенно нравятся?
= “Which films do you especially like?”

Compare:

Этот фильм тебе нравится. – This film pleases you (singular).
Эти фильмы тебе нравятся. – These films please you (plural).

What case is фильм in, and why?

Фильм is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

Literal structure:

Какой фильм (подлежащее / subject) тебе (дательный / dative) особенно нравится (сказуемое / verb)?
“Which film is especially pleasing to you?”

Even though in English we say “You like the film” (where you is subject), Russian uses the opposite perspective: the film is doing the “pleasing.” That’s why фильм stays in nominative.

What does особенно mean, and could I leave it out?

Особенно means “especially,” “particularly.”

Какой фильм тебе особенно нравится?
= “Which film do you especially like?” / “Which film do you particularly like?”

If you remove особенно, you get a more neutral question:

Какой фильм тебе нравится?
= “Which film do you like?”

Adding особенно adds a nuance of stronger preference, close to asking “Which is your favorite (or one of your favorites)?”

Can I change the word order, like Тебе какой фильм особенно нравится? Is that still correct?

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, and several variants are grammatically correct, with slightly different emphasis:

Какой фильм тебе особенно нравится?
– Neutral, most typical. Focus on which film.
Тебе какой фильм особенно нравится?
– Puts тебе nearer the beginning; can sound more conversational, slightly emphasizing your taste.
Какой фильм тебе нравится особенно?
– Still correct, but особенно feels more detached. The natural position is usually before the verb or after тебе.

You generally want the main new information (the answer part) toward the end. Because you’re asking about the film, the pattern with Какой фильм ... нравится? is the most neutral and common.

Could I say Какой фильм ты особенно любишь? instead? How does that sound?

Yes, Какой фильм ты особенно любишь? is correct and idiomatic. It’s just a bit different in nuance:

Какой фильм тебе особенно нравится?
– Neutral, everyday “Which film do you especially like?”
Какой фильм ты особенно любишь?
– Feels slightly stronger: “Which film do you really love in particular?”

Both are fine in casual conversation. The original with нравится is more common when talking about preferences in a neutral way.

What’s the difference between тебе and вам in this sentence?

Both are dative forms of “you,” but they differ in number and formality:

тебе – singular, informal “you” (to you).
вам – either plural “you all” or formal singular “you” (to you / to you all).

So you could say:

Какой фильм тебе особенно нравится? – speaking informally to one person (a friend, child, etc.).
Какой фильм вам особенно нравится? – speaking politely to a stranger, teacher, older person, or to a group.

Grammar stays the same; only the pronoun changes.

If I want to ask about films in general, how does the sentence change?

You need to make everything agree in the plural:

Какие фильмы тебе особенно нравятся?
- какие – plural of какой.
- фильмы – plural of фильм.
- нравятся – plural of нравится, agreeing with фильмы.

Meaning: “Which films do you especially like?” or “What films do you particularly like?”