Questions & Answers about Ты знаешь дату приезда Ивана?
Why is it дату instead of дата?
Дата (date) is the direct object of the verb знаешь (you know), so it takes the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -а, the ending changes to -у.
Why are приезда and Ивана both in the genitive case?
Russian often strings genitive nouns together to show possession or relationship, much like saying 'of' multiple times in English. Here, дату приезда Ивана literally translates to 'the date of the arrival of Ivan'. While English prefers 'Ivan's arrival', Russian builds a chain of genitives.
Is приезд related to the verbs of motion?
Yes! Приезд is a masculine noun meaning 'arrival' (by vehicle), related to the verb приезжать (to arrive by transport). Here it takes the genitive ending -а because it translates as 'of the arrival'.
Could I change the word order to дату Ивана приезда to match the English 'Ivan's arrival'?
No, you need to keep it as дату приезда Ивана. In Russian genitive chains, the modifying noun must come directly after the word it belongs to. Reversing them would sound like 'the date of Ivan of the arrival'.