Примирение после ссоры помогло нам снова доверять друг другу.

Breakdown of Примирение после ссоры помогло нам снова доверять друг другу.

помочь
to help
после
after
снова
again
нам
us
доверять
to trust
ссора
the quarrel
друг другу
each other
примирение
the reconciliation

Questions & Answers about Примирение после ссоры помогло нам снова доверять друг другу.

Why is примирение used here instead of a verb like мы помирились?

Примирение is a noun meaning reconciliation or making up. Russian often uses nouns like this to express an event or process in a more abstract way.

So:

  • Примирение после ссоры помогло нам... = The reconciliation after the quarrel helped us...
  • Мы помирились... = We made up...

The sentence with примирение sounds a bit more neutral and formal than a sentence built around мы помирились.

Also notice that примирение is a neuter noun, which is why the past-tense verb is помогло.

Why is it после ссоры? What case is ссоры?

После requires the genitive case, so ссора becomes ссоры.

  • nominative: ссора = quarrel
  • genitive: ссоры

So:

  • после ссоры = after the quarrel / after an argument

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

  • после работы = after work
  • после урока = after the lesson
  • после встречи = after the meeting
Why is the verb помогло in neuter?

Because the subject is примирение, and примирение is a neuter singular noun.

In the past tense, Russian verbs agree with the subject in gender and number:

  • masculine: помог
  • feminine: помогла
  • neuter: помогло
  • plural: помогли

So:

  • Примирение помогло = The reconciliation helped
Why is it нам and not мы?

Because the verb помочь / помогать takes the person being helped in the dative case.

  • мы = we
  • нам = to us

So:

  • помогло нам = helped us

This is a standard Russian pattern:

  • Он помог мне = He helped me
  • Она помогла брату = She helped her brother
  • Это помогло нам = This helped us
Why is the verb доверять and not доверить?

These are different aspectual and lexical choices.

  • доверять = to trust
  • доверить usually means to entrust something to someone, often as a one-time complete act

In this sentence, the meaning is about restoring an ongoing state or ability: to trust each other again. That fits доверять.

Compare:

  • Я доверяю ему. = I trust him.
  • Я доверил ему секрет. = I entrusted him with a secret.

So снова доверять друг другу means to trust each other again, not to entrust something.

Why is it друг другу? What does that mean exactly?

Друг другу means each other.

It changes by case, and here it is in the dative, because доверять takes the dative.

So:

  • доверять кому? = to trust whom?
  • друг другу = each other

Literally, it is something like to one another.

Some other case forms are:

  • друг друга = each other (genitive/accusative in some contexts)
  • друг другу = to each other
  • друг с другом = with each other

In this sentence:

  • доверять друг другу = to trust each other
Why does доверять take the dative case?

That is simply the normal government pattern of this verb in Russian.

You trust to someone in Russian grammar:

  • доверять кому?
  • Я доверяю тебе. = I trust you.
  • Мы доверяем учителю. = We trust the teacher.

This often feels unusual to English speakers because English uses a direct object: trust someone. Russian does not work that way with доверять.

What is the role of снова in the sentence?

Снова means again.

Here it modifies доверять:

  • снова доверять = to trust again

So the sentence means that after the reconciliation, they were able to return to a previous state of trust.

Russian word order is fairly flexible, so you could also see similar variants such as:

  • ...помогло нам доверять друг другу снова

But снова доверять sounds the most natural here.

Could the word order be changed?

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others depending on emphasis.

The original:

  • Примирение после ссоры помогло нам снова доверять друг другу.

This is neutral and natural.

Possible variations:

  • После ссоры примирение помогло нам снова доверять друг другу.
    • This emphasizes after the quarrel a little more.
  • Нам помогло примирение после ссоры снова доверять друг другу.
    • Grammatically possible, but less natural stylistically.

For learners, the original order is a good model.

Could you break the sentence into chunks?

Yes:

  • Примирение = reconciliation / making up
  • после ссоры = after the quarrel
  • помогло нам = helped us
  • снова доверять = to trust again
  • друг другу = each other

So the structure is:

  • [Subject] Примирение после ссоры
  • [Verb] помогло
  • [Indirect object] нам
  • [Infinitive phrase] снова доверять друг другу

Very literally:

  • The reconciliation after the quarrel helped us to trust each other again.
Is ссора the same as спор or конфликт?

Not exactly.

  • ссора = a quarrel, a falling-out, an argument with personal/emotional tension
  • спор = a dispute, disagreement, argument, often focused on opinions
  • конфликт = conflict, a broader and often more serious word

In this sentence, ссора fits well because reconciliation often follows a personal quarrel.

How would a more conversational version of this sentence sound?

A more everyday version might be:

  • После ссоры мы помирились и снова начали доверять друг другу.

This means roughly:

  • After the quarrel, we made up and started trusting each other again.

Compared with the original:

  • Примирение после ссоры помогло нам снова доверять друг другу.

the original sounds a bit more written, reflective, or formal.

AI Language TutorTry it ↗
Your avatar
What's the best way to learn Russian grammar?
Russian grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Russian

Master Russian — from Примирение после ссоры помогло нам снова доверять друг другу to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • AI tutor to answer your grammar questions