Breakdown of Моя бабушка никогда не верит этому новому врачу.
не
not
врач
doctor
новый
new
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
бабушка
grandmother
никогда
never
верить
to believe
Questions & Answers about Моя бабушка никогда не верит этому новому врачу.
Why do the words for "this new" change to этому новому?
They are in the Dative case because they describe the doctor (врачу). For masculine singular words, demonstrative pronouns like этот (this) change to этому, and adjectives like новый (new) take the -ому ending.
Why is the doctor in the Dative case (врачу)?
The verb верить (to believe) requires the Dative case for the person you are believing. You can think of it as giving your trust to someone. Since врач is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, it takes the -у ending in the Dative case.
Why does the sentence use both никогда and не?
Russian requires a double negative. When you use a negative word like никогда (never), you must also place не (not) directly in front of the verb. A literal translation would be that she never not believes the doctor.
If the doctor was a woman, would we change этому новому to feminine endings?
No, because the word врач is a grammatically masculine noun, even when it refers to a female doctor. Grammatical rules say the adjectives and pronouns must match the gender of the noun they describe, so they stay in the masculine Dative forms этому новому.
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