Distributing "Each" with по
To express distributive quantities—like giving "one of each" or "two per person"—Russian uses the preposition по followed by a number. The grammatical case triggered by по depends on the exact number.
For 1 (один, одна, одно), both the number and the noun take the Dative case.
| I will hand out one leaflet to everyone. | Я раздам всем по одной листовке. |
For 2, 3, and 4, the number takes the Accusative case (matching the Nominative: два, три, четыре), and the noun takes the Genitive singular.
| Yesterday we handed out two coupons to each client. | Вчера мы раздали каждому клиенту по два купона. |
Receiving Your Share: достаться
The verb достаться (to go to, to end up with) often describes distributing items. It works "backwards" from English: the recipient takes the Dative case, while the thing being received is in the по phrase.
| The participants will get one prize each. | Участникам достанется по одному призу. |
| They got three tokens each. | Им досталось по три жетона. |
Higher Numbers and Awarding Points
For numbers 5 and higher, modern Russian typically uses the Accusative case for the number (пять, десять) paired with a Genitive plural noun. (Note: Traditional formal grammar sometimes prescribes the Dative case for 5 and up, but Accusative forms are the standard in modern usage.)
You will frequently hear this distributive structure when playing games, using verbs like начислять / начислить (to award points) and the noun очко (point).
| For such answers we usually award five points each. | За такие ответы мы обычно начисляем по пять очков. |
| Why did you award them ten points each? | Почему вы начислили им по десять очков? |