Question 1

The English translation says "I like them", so why do we use the singular нравится instead of нравятся?

Accepted Answer

In Russian, the word for clothes (одежда) is a feminine singular noun, similar to the English word "clothing". Because the thing being liked is singular, we must use the singular verb нравится, not the plural нравятся.

Question 2

Why does the second sentence start with Она (she) when we are talking about clothes?

Accepted Answer

Она replaces the word одежда. Because одежда is a feminine singular noun (it ends in -а), we have to use the feminine singular pronoun Она to mean "it" or "they" in this context.

Question 3

Why is the sentence ordered Она мне нравится instead of starting with Я (I)?

Accepted Answer

To express "like" in Russian, the grammar is flipped: you are actually saying "It is pleasing to me". The thing being liked (Она) is the subject. The person doing the liking takes the Dative case (мне means "to me"). So, Она мне нравится literally translates to "It to me is pleasing".

Question 4

Since одежда is feminine, why does the first sentence start with Это instead of Эта?

Accepted Answer

When you use Это to introduce something new ("This is..." or "These are..."), it stays in its fixed, neutral form, no matter what noun follows. You would only use the feminine Эта if "this" was directly attached to the noun as an adjective, like in Эта одежда (This clothing).

Это очень красивая одежда. Она мне нравится.

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