Мама надела тёплый шарф поверх пальто.

the mother

Breakdown of Мама надела тёплый шарф поверх пальто.

• надеть: to put on
• пальто: the coat
• тёплый: warm

Questions & Answers about Мама надела тёплый шарф поверх пальто.

Why is the verb надела, not одела?

This is one of the most common Russian learner questions.

In careful standard Russian:

• надеть = to put on a piece of clothing
• одеть = to dress someone

So:

• Мама надела тёплый шарф. = Mom put on a warm scarf.
• Мама одела ребёнка. = Mom dressed the child.

A common memory trick is:

• надеть что? = put on what?
• одеть кого? = dress whom?

So here шарф is the thing being put on, which is why надела is the right verb.

Why does надела end in -ла?

Because it is past tense, feminine, singular.

The infinitive is надеть. In the past tense, Russian verbs change for gender and number:

• надел = he put on
• надела = she put on
• надело = it put on
• надели = they put on

Since мама is feminine, the verb is надела.

Why is тёплый шарф in that form? Shouldn’t the object change case?