Questions & Answers about Папа подарил сыну машину.
Why does the word for son have a -у at the end (сыну)?
Сыну is in the Dative case, which is used for the indirect object (the person receiving something). For masculine nouns that end in a consonant, like сын, we add -у to make the Dative form.
Both сыну and машину end in -у. Are they in the same case?
No, they just happen to have the same ending! Сыну is Dative because he is the receiver. Машину is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing being given). Feminine nouns ending in -а, like машина, change to -у in the Accusative case.
Папа ends in -а, which usually makes a noun feminine. Why is the verb подарил in the masculine form?
Why does the English translation say 'his son' when there is no word for 'his' in the Russian sentence?
In Russian, possessive words are often left out if the context makes it obvious. Since dads usually give gifts to their own children, adding a word for 'his' is unnecessary here.
Does подарил just mean 'gave'?
It specifically means 'gave as a gift'. If Dad just handed his son the car keys for a quick drive, you would use the standard verb for giving (дал). Подарил means the car is a present.
Learn Папа подарил сыну машину and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free