Breakdown of Напомни рабочим о граблях и вилах.
и
and
о
about (о, об, обо)
напомнить
to remind (perfective)
рабочий
worker
грабли
rake
вилы
pitchfork
Questions & Answers about Напомни рабочим о граблях и вилах.
The English translation says 'the rake and the pitchfork' (singular), so why are граблях and вилах plural?
Both грабли (rake) and вилы (pitchfork) are plural-only nouns in Russian, much like 'scissors' or 'glasses' in English. Because they only exist in the plural form, they must take plural case endings, even when you are talking about just one rake or pitchfork.
How do we form the prepositional case for plural-only nouns like грабли and вилы?
You treat them exactly like the plural forms of regular nouns. In the prepositional case, plural nouns usually end in -ах or -ях. Вилы drops the -ы and adds -ах to become вилах. Грабли ends in the soft vowel -и, so it drops it and takes the soft ending -ях to become граблях.
Why is the word for 'workers' (рабочим) in the dative case here?
The verb напомнить (to remind) requires the dative case for the person you are reminding, because you are directing the information to them. It is then followed by о + the prepositional case for the thing you are reminding them about.
Why does рабочим have an adjective ending (-им) instead of a standard dative plural noun ending like -ам?
The word рабочий (worker) is an adjective that has evolved into a noun. Even though it functions as a noun in the sentence, it still declines exactly like a standard adjective. The dative plural ending for adjectives is -им (or -ым).
Why use the perfective imperative напомни instead of the imperfective напоминай?
You use the perfective напомни because you are asking someone to perform a single, specific action with a concrete result (reminding the workers this one time). Напоминай would mean to remind them regularly or keep reminding them.
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