Breakdown of Он даёт книгу.
книга
book
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
давать
to give (imperfective)
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Questions & Answers about Он даёт книгу.
Why is the word for book spelled книгу here instead of its dictionary form книга?
Because the book is the direct object of the sentence (the thing being given), it must be in the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -а like книга, the ending changes to -у.
I thought inanimate objects don't change in the accusative case. Why did книга change?
That rule only applies to masculine and neuter nouns! Inanimate masculine and neuter things stay exactly like their dictionary form. However, feminine words ending in -а or -я always change their endings in the accusative case, even if they are inanimate.
The verb даёт looks quite different from its dictionary form. What is the rule here?
The dictionary form is давать (to give). It belongs to a special group of verbs ending in -авать. When conjugating in the present tense, you drop the -ва- part in the middle, leaving just да-, and then add the usual present tense endings. So for он (he), it becomes даёт.
How do we know it means "a book" and not "the book"?
Russian does not use articles like "a" or "the". The phrase Он даёт книгу can mean either "He gives a book" or "He gives the book." You simply figure out which one is meant based on the context of the conversation.