Questions & Answers about Мне нравится свежесть воздуха после дождя.
Why is it мне нравится... and not я нравится...?
Because нравиться works differently from English to like.
In Russian, the structure is closer to:
- Мне нравится X = X is pleasing to me
So:
- мне is dative case of я and means to me
- нравится means is pleasing / pleases
- the thing that is liked is the grammatical subject
That is why я нравится is incorrect here.
Why is the verb нравится singular?
Because the subject is свежесть (freshness), and that noun is singular.
Russian verbs agree with the grammatical subject, not with the person who feels the liking.
So in this sentence:
- свежесть = subject
- нравится = singular, because свежесть is singular
Compare:
- Мне нравится свежесть воздуха. = I like the freshness of the air.
- Мне нравятся цветы. = I like flowers.
In the second example, цветы is plural, so the verb becomes нравятся.
What case is свежесть, and why?