Він дарує мені подарунок.

He gives me a gift.

Breakdown of Він дарує мені подарунок.

• мені: me
• він: he
• дарувати: to give
• подарунок: the gift

Questions & Answers about Він дарує мені подарунок.

What is the overall meaning and structure of the sentence "Він дарує мені подарунок."?

The sentence means "He gives me a gift." Its structure is clear: Він (He) is the subject in the nominative case, дарує (gives) is the verb in the third-person singular present tense, мені (to me) is the indirect object shown in the dative case, and подарунок (gift) is the direct object in the accusative case.

Why is the pronoun мені used in the dative case instead of using a preposition like “to”?

In Ukrainian, the recipient of an action is marked by the dative case rather than by a preposition. Менi clearly indicates “to me” through its ending, which identifies it as the indirect object without needing an extra word like “to” that English requires.

How is the verb дарує conjugated, and what does its form tell us about the sentence?

Дарує is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb дарувати (to give as a gift). This conjugation tells us that the subject (Він) is singular and that the action is taking place in the present. It also implies a habitual or current action without additional context for past or future events.

How does the word order in this Ukrainian sentence compare to typical English word order?

Both Ukrainian and English often use a Subject-Verb-Object order. In this sentence, the order is Subject (Він) – Verb (дарує) – Indirect Object (мені) – Direct Object (подарунок), similar to English “He gives me a gift.” However, Ukrainian relies on grammatical cases to mark the roles of each word, which means the word order can be more flexible for emphasis without causing confusion.

What is the difference between the verb дарувати and a more general verb like давати?

While давати is a general term for “to give,” дарувати specifically means “to give as a gift.” This verb choice in the sentence emphasizes that the act of giving is in the context of gifting, which can carry additional nuances of generosity or formality in Ukrainian.

How are the direct and indirect objects distinguished in this sentence?

The distinction comes from the case endings. Менi is in the dative case, marking it as the indirect object (the receiver of the gift), while подарунок is in the accusative case, marking it as the direct object (the gift itself). These case endings clarify each word’s role regardless of the word order.