Emotional Reactions and the Dative Case
In Russian, verbs that express emotional reactions—like being happy, surprised, or envious—often require the Dative case. While English uses prepositions like "about" or "by," Russian puts the target of the emotion directly into the Dative case.
Here is a quick refresher on common Dative noun endings:
- Masculine / Neuter: -у / -ю
- Feminine: -е / -и
- Plural: -ам / -ям
Being Glad: радоваться / обрадоваться
To say you are happy about or glad for something, use радоваться (imperfective) or обрадоваться (perfective).
Use the perfective обрадоваться for a completed reaction in the past or a specific reaction that will happen in the future.
Being Surprised: удивляться / удивиться
When you are surprised by something, use удивляться (imperfective) or удивиться (perfective).
Sympathizing and Envying: сочувствовать and завидовать
The verbs сочувствовать (to sympathize with) and завидовать (to envy) also take the Dative. Notice that both end in -овать, meaning the suffix changes to -у- in the present and future tenses (e.g., я сочувствую, он завидует).
These emotions are often directed at pronouns, which must take their Dative forms (such as мне for "me" or тебе for "you").
