Questions & Answers about Мама приготовила им суп.
Why is "for them" translated as just им without a word for "for"?
In Russian, the Dative case often shows who is receiving an action or who it is done for. им is the Dative form of они (they), so it already means "for them" or "to them" all by itself. You don't need a separate preposition.
Why does приготовила end in -ла?
Past tense verbs in Russian change to match the gender of the subject doing the action. Because мама (mom) is a feminine noun, the verb takes the feminine past tense ending -ла.
Is суп in the Nominative case here, since it hasn't changed its ending?
It is actually in the Accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing being cooked). But because суп is a masculine inanimate noun (a non-living thing), its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary (Nominative) form.
Could I put им at the end of the sentence?
Yes, Russian word order is very flexible! However, the order in this sentence is the most neutral and natural. If you move им to the very end (Мама приготовила суп им), it places special emphasis on the word, sounding more like "Mom cooked soup for them (and not for someone else)."
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