To express gratitude for a favor, apologize for a mistake, or talk about an exchange (like paying for something), Russian uses the preposition за followed by the Accusative case. This functions much like the English "for" in phrases like "thank you for" or "pay for".
Expressing Gratitude
Whether you use the everyday спасибо (thank you) or the formal verb благодарить (to thank), link it to the reason for your gratitude with за.
When applying the Accusative case to inanimate nouns, remember:
- Neuter nouns ending in -о or -е (like гостеприимство or понимание) do not change form.
- Feminine nouns ending in -а change to -у (like забота → заботу).
| We thank you for the hospitality. | Мы благодарим вас за гостеприимство. |
| Thank you for your care, my stomach no longer hurts. | Спасибо за вашу заботу, у меня больше не болит живот. |
The same за + Accusative pattern is used for financial exchanges, like paying for tickets:
| Thank you for the understanding, I will pay for the tickets tomorrow. | Спасибо за понимание, я завтра заплачу за билеты. |
Apologies and Forgiveness
The identical structure applies when apologizing (извините) or forgiving someone (прощать) for an action. Neuter nouns like опоздание (lateness) stay the same in the Accusative case:
| Sorry for the lateness, we left the house too late. | Извините за опоздание, мы вышли из дома слишком поздно. |
Feminine nouns ending in a soft sign (-ь), such as ложь (lie), also remain unchanged:
| She always forgives her friend for the lie. | Она всегда прощает друга за ложь. |
Causes, Punishments, and Ideals
You can use за + Accusative to state the reason someone is being disciplined or punished (наказывать). Once again, a feminine word like ошибка (mistake) takes the -у ending (ошибку).
| One must not punish a child for every mistake. | Нельзя наказывать ребёнка за каждую ошибку. |
Finally, за represents the concept of fighting "for" an ideal, using the verb бороться. An abstract feminine noun ending in a soft sign like справедливость (justice) also remains unchanged in the Accusative.
| The journalist will fight for justice. | Журналист будет бороться за справедливость. |