Breakdown of Наша компания предлагает помощь младшим ученикам.
наш
our (наш, наша, наше)
младший
younger
ученик
pupil
компания
company
предлагать
to offer
помощь
the help
Questions & Answers about Наша компания предлагает помощь младшим ученикам.
Why is младшим ученикам in the dative case here?
In Russian, the dative case is used for the indirect object—the person or group receiving something. Just like in English you offer help to someone, the verb предлагать (to offer) requires the dative case for the recipients, which in this sentence is младшим ученикам.
How do the dative plural endings work for младшим ученикам?
For most hard-stem masculine nouns like ученик, we add -ам to make the dative plural: ученикам. For plural adjectives, the standard dative ending is -ым. However, because of the spelling rule that says you can never write ы after the hushing consonant ш, the adjective младший (younger) takes the soft ending -им instead, becoming младшим.
The company is offering "help" (помощь), making it the direct object. Why didn't its ending change?
Помощь actually is in the accusative case here! However, because it is a feminine noun that ends in a soft sign (-ь) in its dictionary form, it belongs to the 3rd declension group. For these specific nouns, the accusative form is completely identical to the nominative form.
What is the infinitive of предлагает, and why is this aspect used here?
The infinitive is предлагать (to offer). This is an imperfective verb, which fits perfectly here because the company offers this help generally, regularly, or as an ongoing service. Its perfective counterpart, used for a one-time or specific completed offer, is предложить.
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