Breakdown of Мне надо забрать посылку от отправителя.
мне
to me
надо
must, need to
от
from
посылка
parcel
отправитель
sender
забрать
to pick up (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Мне надо забрать посылку от отправителя.
Why do we use от for 'from' here instead of из?
In Russian, от is used when you receive something from, or move away from, a person or living thing (in this case, the отправитель, meaning sender). You use из when taking something 'out of' an enclosed space, country, or city.
What case is отправителя, and why?
It is in the Genitive case because the preposition от always requires the Genitive. The dictionary form is отправитель (sender). Because it is a masculine noun ending in a soft sign (-ь), that soft sign changes to -я in the Genitive case.
Why does the sentence start with Мне instead of Я?
The word надо (need or necessary) is an impersonal word that requires the person who 'needs' to be in the Dative case. Мне is the Dative form of я (I). The phrase Мне надо literally translates to 'to me it is necessary'.
Why is it посылку and not посылка (package)?
посылку is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object of the action—it is the thing being picked up (забрать). Feminine nouns that end in -а change to -у in the Accusative case.
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