Например: детям дали по сырнику, а взрослым — по чашке кофе.

the coffee

Breakdown of Например: детям дали по сырнику, а взрослым — по чашке кофе.

• дать: to give
• например: for example
• ребёнок: the child

Questions & Answers about Например: детям дали по сырнику, а взрослым — по чашке кофе.

Why are детям and взрослым in the dative case?

Because they are the recipients of дали (gave).

The verb дать / давать typically takes:

• the person receiving something in the dative
• the thing being given as the direct object

So here:

• детям = to the children
• взрослым = to the adults

Compare:

• Я дал брату книгу. = I gave my brother a book.
• Им дали подарок. = They were given a present.

In your sentence, the recipients are the children and the adults, so both are in the dative.

What does по mean in по сырнику and по чашке кофе?

Here по has a distributive meaning: one each / apiece.

So:

• детям дали по сырнику = the children were given one syrnik each
• взрослым — по чашке кофе = the adults got one cup of coffee each

This use of по is very common in Russian when something is distributed individually:

• дали по яблоку = gave one apple each
• выдали по билету = handed out one ticket each
• купили по чашке чая = bought a cup of tea each

Without по, the sentence would not so clearly express the idea of .