Breakdown of Мне нравятся интересные романы.
я
I
интересный
interesting
нравиться
to please / to appeal
роман
novel
Questions & Answers about Мне нравятся интересные романы.
Why does the sentence start with Мне instead of Я?
In Russian, to express that you like something, you use a structure that translates closer to 'to me is pleasing'. Мне is the 'to me' part, which is the dative case form of Я (I).
Why is the verb нравятся used here instead of нравится?
The verb form depends on the thing that is liked. Since you like 'interesting novels' (романы), which is plural, you must use the plural verb form нравятся. If you liked just one novel, you would use the singular form нравится.
If Мне means 'to me', what is the actual subject of this sentence?
The grammatical subject is интересные романы (interesting novels). In Russian grammar, the things you like are the subject because they are doing the action of 'pleasing' you!
Why does the adjective интересные end in -ые?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe. Because романы is a plural noun in the nominative (subject) case, the adjective takes the standard plural ending -ые.
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