Дети любят кататься на карусели.

Дети is the nominative plural form meaning children.

A very important point for learners: the singular is ребёнок, but its plural is дети. This is an irregular plural, so you cannot predict it from the singular just by adding a normal ending.

In this sentence, дети is the subject, so nominative is the correct case.

Because the subject is plural: дети = children.

Russian verbs change to match the subject:

• он / она любит = he / she loves
• они любят = they love

So:

• ребёнок любит = the child likes
• дети любят = the children like

The ending -ят shows 3rd person plural.

In Russian, любить can cover both love and like, depending on context.

In a sentence like this, it usually means like / enjoy in a general sense:

• Дети любят кататься на карусели = Children like riding the carousel / Children enjoy riding the carousel

It does not necessarily sound as strong as English love in every context.

Russian often uses verb + infinitive after words like love, like, want, begin, prefer, etc.

So:

• любят кататься = like to ride

This works much like English to ride after like:

• Children like to ride...

So the structure is:

• Дети = subject
• любят = finite verb
• кататься = infinitive telling you what they like doing

Кататься usually means to ride, to go for a ride, or to move around for fun.

It is often used for activities such as:

• кататься на велосипеде = ride a bicycle
• кататься на коньках = skate
• кататься на лыжах = ski
• кататься на карусели = ride the carousel

A key nuance is that кататься often suggests an activity done for enjoyment or as a repeated activity, not just simple transportation.

Because кататься and катать are related but different.

• кататься = to ride / go riding oneself
• катать = to roll something or sometimes to take someone for a ride

Examples:

• Дети катаются на карусели = The children are riding the carousel
• Отец катает ребёнка на санках = The father is giving the child a sled ride

The -ся in кататься makes it a reflexive form, and here it gives the idea that the subject is the one participating in the ride.

Because after кататься на Russian normally uses the prepositional case to show the thing you ride on.

So:

• на карусели = on the carousel
• на велосипеде = on a bicycle
• на лошади = on a horse

Here, the sentence is not focusing on movement onto the carousel. It is describing the activity of riding it. That is why на + prepositional is used.

If you were talking about moving onto something, Russian could use the accusative in other contexts, but not here.

Here, карусели is prepositional singular.

The base word is:

• карусель = carousel

It is a feminine noun ending in -ь, and in the prepositional singular it becomes:

• на карусели

This form can look confusing because карусели can also be a plural form in other contexts. But here, after на with the meaning on the carousel, it is understood as prepositional singular.

Because the sentence describes a general liking or habitual activity, not one single completed ride.

Russian aspect matters a lot:

• кататься = imperfective, ongoing/repeated/habitual
• прокатиться = perfective, ride once / have a ride

So:

• Дети любят кататься на карусели = Children like riding the carousel in general

If you used a perfective verb here, it would sound much less natural, because любить usually goes with something understood as a repeated or general activity.

No, Russian word order is fairly flexible because the case endings show the grammatical roles.

The neutral, most straightforward order is:

• Дети любят кататься на карусели.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• На карусели дети любят кататься.

That version puts more focus on the carousel.

Even when the order changes, the meaning stays basically the same because:

• дети is still the subject
• любят still agrees with it
• на карусели still shows where the riding happens

Not necessarily.

Дети любят кататься на карусели usually expresses a general fact or habit:

• Children like riding the carousel
• Children enjoy riding the carousel

It is about what children generally like to do, not specifically what they are doing at this exact moment.

If you wanted to say they are doing it right now, a more direct sentence would be:

• Дети катаются на карусели. = The children are riding the carousel.