Breakdown of После бассейна детям лучше идти не в сауну, а сразу в душевую.
в
to
не
not
идти
to go
лучше
better
Questions & Answers about После бассейна детям лучше идти не в сауну, а сразу в душевую.
Why is it после бассейна and not после бассейн?
Because после always takes the genitive case.
- бассейн = nominative
- бассейна = genitive singular
So:
- после бассейна = after the pool / after swimming
This is a fixed grammar rule:
- после урока = after the lesson
- после обеда = after lunch
- после тренировки = after practice
In this sentence, после бассейна means after being in the pool / after swimming.
Why is детям in the dative case?
Детям is dative because the sentence uses an impersonal construction with лучше.
Literally, the structure is something like:
- детям лучше идти... = for the children, it is better to go...
The dative marks the person for whom something is advisable, preferable, necessary, possible, etc.
Compare:
- Мне лучше остаться. = It’s better for me to stay.
- Тебе надо идти. = You need to go.
- Им можно войти. = They may enter.
So детям does not mean the children are doing something to another object; it means it is better for the children to do this.