На полдник бабушка дала детям по одной ватрушке.

For an afternoon snack, Grandma gave the children one cheese bun each.

Breakdown of На полдник бабушка дала детям по одной ватрушке.

• на: for
• дать: to give
• бабушка: the grandmother
• ребёнок: the child

Questions & Answers about На полдник бабушка дала детям по одной ватрушке.

What does на полдник mean, and why is на used here?

На полдник means for an afternoon snack or as an afternoon snack.

In Russian, на is often used with meals or eating occasions:

• на завтрак — for breakfast
• на обед — for lunch
• на ужин — for dinner
• на полдник — for an afternoon snack

So this is a very normal Russian pattern: дать что-то на полдник = to give something for the afternoon snack.

Here полдник is in the accusative, but since it is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form is the same as the nominative: полдник.

What exactly is полдник?

Полдник is a light meal or snack eaten in the afternoon, especially in traditional family or school contexts.

It does not map perfectly onto a single English word, but common translations are:

• afternoon snack
• mid-afternoon snack
• sometimes just snack

So на полдник suggests not just random eating, but food intended for that particular snack time.

Why is the verb дала and not дал or давалa?