Breakdown of Экспедиция отправилась к обоим противоположным полюсам.
к
towards, to
отправиться
to depart
экспедиция
expedition
оба
both (m/n)
полюс
the pole
противоположный
opposite
Questions & Answers about Экспедиция отправилась к обоим противоположным полюсам.
Why is the word for both spelled обоим here instead of обеим?
Обоим is the dative case form of оба (the masculine and neuter word for both). We use the dative case because the preposition к requires it. Since the noun it modifies, полюс (pole), is masculine, we use the masculine root обо-. If the noun were feminine, we would use the feminine root обе- and write обеим.
Why does the sentence use the preposition к plus the dative case instead of в or на plus the accusative case?
While в and на with the accusative case are typically used for going into or onto a destination, the verb отправиться (to set off) frequently pairs with к (towards). This emphasizes the direction of the journey rather than the final arrival inside a place. The preposition к always forces the following words into the dative case.
Why does the adjective противоположным end in -ым while обоим ends in -им?
Regular hard-stem adjectives in the dative plural take the -ым ending, which gives us противоположным. The word оба is a special quantifier and follows its own unique declension pattern, taking the soft-sounding -им ending in the dative case.
Why does отправилась have a reflexive -сь ending?
The non-reflexive base verb отправить means to send something (like a letter or a package). By adding the reflexive particle -ся (which becomes -сь after the vowel in the feminine past tense ending -ла), the verb effectively means to send oneself. In English, this translates naturally to setting off or departing.
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