Learn Hardcore Russian: Мне тоже нравится обсуждение: я всегда оставляю длинный комментарий в чате клуба. - I also like the discussion: I always leave a long comment in the club chat.

Мне нравится обсуждение.
Literally: “The discussion is pleasing to me.”
- The thing you like (обсуждение) is the grammatical subject.
- The person who likes it (я) is in the dative: мне.
- This often feels a bit softer or more neutral and is very common for talking about liking specific things, activities, or situations.
Я люблю обсуждение.
Literally: “I love (the) discussion.”
- Я is the subject, люблю is a direct transitive verb.
- This sounds stronger or more general, like a stable preference: “I really like / I’m fond of discussion (as a thing in general).”

In your sentence, Мне тоже нравится обсуждение sounds like “I also like this discussion (we’re having)” or “I also like the discussion” in a natural, conversational way. Я люблю обсуждение is grammatically correct but sounds more like a broad statement of taste.

What case is мне, and why do we use that case with нравится?

Мне is the dative case of я.

Singular dative forms:

я → мне
ты → тебе
он → ему
она → ей
мы → нам
вы → вам
они → им

With the verb нравиться (to be pleasing), the person who likes something is always in the dative, and the thing liked is the grammatical subject in the nominative:

Мне нравится обсуждение. – The discussion is pleasing to me.
Ему нравятся комментарии. – The comments are pleasing to him.
Нам не нравится этот чат. – This chat is not pleasing to us.

So мне is used because with нравится, the “experiencer” (the person who feels the liking) is in dative.

Why is обсуждение a noun here instead of a verb like обсуждать?

Обсуждение is the noun “discussion” or “the act of discussing.”

In Мне тоже нравится обсуждение, обсуждение is the subject of the sentence, so it must be a noun:

Обсуждение (what?) – Nominative singular, subject
нравится – agrees with this noun

If you wanted a verb meaning “to discuss,” you would use обсуждать:

Мне тоже нравится обсуждать. – “I also like to discuss (things).”

Difference in nuance:

Мне тоже нравится обсуждение. – Focus on the discussion itself, as an event or process (e.g., this club’s discussions).
Мне тоже нравится обсуждать. – Focus on the activity “to discuss” in general (I enjoy the act of discussing).

Both are correct; they just emphasize slightly different things.

Could you explain the word order in Мне тоже нравится обсуждение? Could I say Обсуждение мне тоже нравится?

Both orders are grammatically correct; the difference is nuance and emphasis.

Мне тоже нравится обсуждение.
- Very typical, neutral order.
- Starts with the “experiencer” (мне), then тоже, then the verb + subject.
- Smoothly answers something like: “I like the discussion.” – Мне тоже нравится обсуждение.
Обсуждение мне тоже нравится.
- Still correct.
- Puts a bit of emphasis on обсуждение (“the discussion”) by placing it first.
- Can sound like: “As for the discussion, I also like it.” Maybe we were already listing things we like, and now we add “the discussion” to that list.

So yes, you can say Обсуждение мне тоже нравится, but Мне тоже нравится обсуждение is the most neutral and common in conversation.

How does тоже work here? Is there a difference between тоже and также?

In Мне тоже нравится обсуждение, тоже means “also / too”, adding you to someone else who likes the discussion.

Тоже vs также:

тоже
- Very common in speech.
- Often means “too / as well,” especially in “me too / him too” contexts.
- Often includes a sense of comparison or parallel: I as well, same as someone else.
- Example:
  - Мне нравится обсуждение.
    Мне тоже нравится. – “I like it too.”
также
- More formal and bookish.
- Often closer to “also / in addition.”
- Used more in writing, presentations, and when you add points in a list.
- Example:
  - Мне нравится обсуждение. Мне также нравится формат встреч.
    “I like the discussion. I also like the format of the meetings.”

In your sentence when you’re just saying “I like it too,” тоже is the most natural choice. Мне также нравится обсуждение is grammatically correct but sounds more formal / written.

Why is it нравится (singular) and not нравятся?

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

Мне нравится обсуждение.
- Обсуждение is singular → нравится (3rd person singular).
Мне нравятся обсуждения.
- Обсуждения (discussions) is plural → нравятся (3rd person plural).

So:

singular liked thing:
Этот комментарий мне нравится. – “I like this comment.”
plural liked things:
Эти комментарии мне нравятся. – “I like these comments.”

In your sentence, обсуждение is singular, so нравится is correct.

In я всегда оставляю длинный комментарий, why is оставляю imperfective? What would change if we used оставлю?

Оставляю is the imperfective present tense of оставлять (to leave, to leave behind).

Я всегда оставляю длинный комментарий.
- Imperfective, present.
- Describes a habitual action: “I always (habitually) leave a long comment.”
- This is the natural aspect to use for routines and repeated actions.

Оставлю is perfective future (from оставить):

Я всегда оставлю длинный комментарий.
- Grammatically possible, but sounds odd because “always” + perfective usually clashes.
- Perfective focuses on a single, completed action, usually in the future:
  - Я оставлю длинный комментарий. – “I will (once) leave a long comment.”

So:

Habit / repeated behavior → оставляю (imperfective).
One specific future action, completed once → оставлю (perfective future).

What case is длинный комментарий, and how do the endings work?

In я всегда оставляю длинный комментарий:

комментарий is masculine inanimate, singular.
It’s the direct object of оставляю, so it’s in the accusative case.

For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative = nominative:

Nominative: длинный комментарий – “a long comment”
Accusative: я оставляю длинный комментарий – “I leave a long comment”

The adjective длинный agrees with комментарий in:

gender: masculine
number: singular
case: accusative (which equals nominative for masc. inanimate)

If the noun were masculine animate, the accusative would look like the genitive:

Я вижу длинного мужчину. – “I see a tall man.” (animate, so длинного мужчину)

In в чате клуба, why is чате in that form, and why is клуба different?

В чате клуба literally means “in the chat of the club.”

в чате
- The preposition в with the meaning “in / inside” usually takes the prepositional case.
- чат (chat) → prepositional singular: в чате – “in the chat.”
клуба
- клуб (club) is in the genitive case: клуба – “of the club.”
- Genitive often expresses possession or belonging: “the club’s chat / chat of the club.”

So the structure is:

в чате – location (where?) → prepositional case
клуба – whose chat? “of the club” → genitive case

You could also express this as в клубном чате (“in the club chat”), using an adjective клубный instead of a genitive noun клуба. Both are correct; в чате клуба sounds slightly more explicit/literal.

Could we say в чат клуба instead of в чате клуба?

В чат клуба is possible, but it means something slightly different.

в чате клуба = location
- “in the club’s chat”
- You are located inside that chat (this is where the comments appear).
- Preposition в
  - prepositional case: в чате.
в чат клуба = direction / movement
- “into the club’s chat”
- This emphasizes movement toward / into the chat, like where you’re sending something.
- Preposition в
  - accusative for direction: в чат.

Compare:

Я оставляю комментарий в чате клуба.
“I leave a comment in the club’s chat.” (where the comment is)
Я отправляю сообщение в чат клуба.
“I’m sending a message into the club’s chat.” (where the message is sent to)

In your sentence, the focus is on the place where the comment is (inside the chat), so в чате клуба is the natural choice.

Why is there a colon after обсуждение and not a comma or period?

The original sentence is:

Мне тоже нравится обсуждение: я всегда оставляю длинный комментарий в чате клуба.

In Russian, a colon is used between two clauses when the second one:

explains,
gives a reason,
or gives a consequence of the first.

Here:

First clause: Мне тоже нравится обсуждение. – “I also like the discussion.”
Second clause: я всегда оставляю длинный комментарий… – explains why or in what way: “I always leave a long comment…”

So the colon shows that the second part explains or illustrates the first.

Other options:

You could use a period:
Мне тоже нравится обсуждение. Я всегда оставляю длинный комментарий…
→ More neutral, two separate statements.
You cannot simply put a comma with no conjunction between two full independent clauses in standard Russian punctuation; you would need a conjunction (e.g. потому что, и), or use a colon / dash / period.

So the colon is a stylistic choice: it tightly connects “I like the discussion” with the explanation “because I always leave a long comment in the club chat.”