Breakdown of Вчера врач посоветовал моему брату пойти к специалисту.
брат
brother
врач
doctor
мой
my / mine
вчера
yesterday
Questions & Answers about Вчера врач посоветовал моему брату пойти к специалисту.
Why do we use к here for 'to a specialist' instead of в or на?
In Russian, when you go to a person (like a specialist, doctor, or friend), you must use the preposition к plus the Dative case. You only use в or на when going to a place, building, or event.
Wait, doesn't к sometimes mean 'towards'? Does the doctor just want him to walk in the direction of the specialist?
While к can mean 'towards' a building or object, when used with a person, it means going all the way to them for a visit or appointment. So пойти к специалисту means actually going to see the specialist, not just walking towards them!
Why is 'my brother' written as моему брату?
The verb посоветовать (to advise) requires the Dative case for the person receiving the advice. Since брат is a masculine noun, it takes the -у ending, and the possessive pronoun мой changes to its masculine Dative form, моему.
Why does the sentence use the perfective verb пойти instead of идти?
Пойти (to set off / to go) focuses on the completed result of going to the specialist. The doctor isn't advising the general, ongoing process of walking there (идти), but rather a single, successfully completed trip.