Advanced Case Government: The Dative
In Russian, the Dative case is best known for indicating the receiver of an action. However, it is also governed by a specific set of verbs that describe matching a standard or yielding to an external force.
Matching and Corresponding
The verb соответствовать means to match, comply with, or correspond to. The standard, rule, or criterion being matched must be in the Dative case.
| This project matches the quality standard. | Этот проект соответствует стандарту качества. |
| Our product matches this criterion. | Наш продукт соответствует этому критерию. |
Yielding and Conceding
When you give in to pressure, back down, or physically give up your spot, use the verbs уступать (imperfective) or уступить (perfective). The force, pressure, or person you yield to takes the Dative case.
| He never yields to pressure or provocations. | Он никогда не уступает давлению или провокациям. |
| If the director had not yielded to pressure, we would have won. | Если бы директор не уступил давлению, мы бы выиграли. |
Succumbing and Giving In
A similar concept is expressed by the reflexive verbs поддаваться (imperfective) and поддаться (perfective). These are typically used when succumbing to internal feelings, temptations, or external provocations. The thing you give in to takes the Dative case.
| The scientist did not succumb to emotions. | Учёный не поддавался эмоциям. |
| He gave in to temptation and bought a cake. | Он поддался искушению и купил торт. |
