Breakdown of Нам нужны спички для костра.
нам
to us
нужен
needed (нужен, нужна, нужны)
для
for
костёр
the campfire
спичка
match (for lighting a fire)
Questions & Answers about Нам нужны спички для костра.
If the English translation is "We need", why does the Russian sentence start with Нам instead of Мы?
In Russian, the construction for needing an object literally translates to "X is needed to someone." The person who needs the item is put in the Dative case (so Мы becomes Нам), and the item itself is the grammatical subject in the Nominative case.
Why do we use the plural нужны here instead of нужно?
нужен is a short adjective, not a verb, meaning it must agree in gender and number with the thing that is needed. Because the needed item here is спички (matches), which is plural, we use the plural form нужны.
What is the dictionary form of костра and why does it look like this here?
The dictionary form is костёр (campfire). It is in the Genitive case here because it follows the preposition для (for). Notice that костёр has a fleeting vowel: the ё disappears when the Genitive ending -а is added, resulting in костра.
Instead of this structure, could we just use the verb нуждаться (to need)?
You can, but it sounds very formal or intense, like being in dire need. For everyday situations like needing matches for a fire, the Нам нужны construction is the most natural and standard choice.
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