Breakdown of Мне стало легче не столько после капель, сколько после тёплого чая и отдыха.
и
and
мне
me
чай
the tea
после
after
Questions & Answers about Мне стало легче не столько после капель, сколько после тёплого чая и отдыха.
Why does the sentence begin with мне? Why is it in the dative case?
Мне is in the dative because Russian often uses the dative to show the person experiencing a state or feeling.
In this sentence, the structure is basically:
- мне стало легче = it became easier / I felt better
Russian does not literally say I became better here. Instead, it uses an impersonal construction:
- мне = to me / for me
- стало легче = it became easier / lighter
This is very common with words for physical or emotional states:
- Мне холодно. = I’m cold.
- Мне плохо. = I feel bad.
- Мне стало лучше. = I started to feel better.
So мне marks the experiencer, not the grammatical subject.
Why is it стало, not было or я стал?