Questions & Answers about Сукня їй пасує, тоді як куртка не пасує.
Why is їй used here, and what case is it?
Їй means to her / for her and it is in the dative case.
The verb пасувати in the sense of to suit someone / to look good on someone normally works like this:
- [thing] пасує [person in dative]
So:
- Сукня їй пасує = The dress suits her
- literally: The dress is suitable to her
That is why Ukrainian uses їй rather than a direct-object form.
Why is it їй, not її?
Because їй and її are different cases of вона (she).
- її = her as a direct object, or her in the possessive sense
- їй = to her / for her (dative)
With пасувати meaning to suit someone, Ukrainian uses the dative, so їй is correct:
- Сукня їй пасує.
Not:
- Сукня її пасує. ❌
What exactly does пасує mean here?