Questions & Answers about Мне легко учить новые слова утром.
Why does the sentence use Мне and not Я?
Russian often uses the dative case to talk about how something feels to someone:
- Мне легко... = It is easy for me...
- Literally: To me (it is) easy to learn new words in the morning.
So:
- Мне = “to me” (dative of я)
- There is no nominative subject like я here. Instead, the whole infinitive phrase учить новые слова утром functions like the “thing” that is easy.
This is the same pattern you see in:
- Мне холодно. – I am cold. (Literally: To me it’s cold.)
- Ей трудно работать. – It’s hard for her to work.
Using Я would change the structure and meaning (see the next question).
Could I say Я легко учу новые слова утром instead? Is that the same?