Breakdown of Благодаря свободному доступу мы получаем знания.
мы
we
свободный
free, available
получать
to receive
благодаря
thanks to
доступ
the access
знание
the knowledge
Questions & Answers about Благодаря свободному доступу мы получаем знания.
Why do свободный and доступ change to свободному доступу in this sentence?
The preposition благодаря (thanks to) requires the Dative case. It comes from the verb благодарить (to thank), so you can think of it as giving thanks to something. Since доступ (access) is a masculine noun, it takes the Dative ending -у, and its matching adjective свободный (free) takes the Dative ending -ому.
Why is знания plural if the translation just says 'knowledge'?
In English, 'knowledge' is uncountable and always singular. In Russian, знание is countable. When talking about someone's overall learning, acquired facts, or education, Russians almost always use the plural form знания. Here it is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb.
Could I use из-за instead of благодаря to say 'because of free access'?
Grammatically yes, but it sounds unnatural here. Благодаря is used specifically for positive reasons, exactly like 'thanks to' in English. Из-за is typically used for negative or neutral reasons. Also, remember that if you did use из-за, you would need the Genitive case (из-за свободного доступа), not the Dative case used here.
Is получаем the best verb for 'getting' knowledge?
Yes, it is the most natural choice. Получать means 'to receive' or 'to get'. You might be tempted to use брать (to take), but that is mostly used for physically taking an object with your hands. For abstract things like education, information, or knowledge, получать is the right verb.
Learn Благодаря свободному доступу мы получаем знания and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free