Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Завдяки мамі, я нічого не забув. - Thanks to my mother, I didn’t forget anything.

завдяки is a preposition meaning “thanks to” or “due to” and introduces the cause of a positive result.
дякую is a verb meaning “I thank” and would need an object in the accusative (e.g. “Я дякую мамі” means “I thank mom”). They are not interchangeable.

What case does мама take after завдяки, and why is it мамі?

In Ukrainian, завдяки requires the dative case. That’s why мама (nominative) becomes мамі (dative).

Is the comma after мамі mandatory?

No, the comma is optional. It marks “завдяки мамі” as an introductory adverbial phrase. You can write:
– Завдяки мамі я нічого не забув.
– Завдяки мамі, я нічого не забув.

Why does the sentence use нічого не забув instead of something like не забув нічого?

Both word orders are grammatically correct:
– Я нічого не забув.
– Я не забув нічого.
However, the more natural pattern in spoken and written Ukrainian is “нічого не + verb”. This double negation is required: you always pair не with нічого/ніколи/ нікого etc.

Can we drop не and just say Я нічого забув?

No. In Ukrainian, a negative indefinite pronoun like нічого must be accompanied by не in front of the verb. “Я нічого забув” without не would be ungrammatical.

Could we move завдяки мамі to the end of the sentence?

Yes. Ukrainian word order is quite flexible. Both are correct:
– Завдяки мамі я нічого не забув.
– Я нічого не забув завдяки мамі.
Placing завдяки мамі at the beginning emphasizes the reason, while at the end it sounds more neutral.

What’s the difference between завдяки and через when expressing cause?

завдяки is used only for positive causes (thanks to mom → positive result).
через can express neutral or negative reasons (through, because of):
– Positive: Завдяки тобі я щасливий.
– Neutral/negative: Я спізнився через затори.