Breakdown of Из-за преданности королю они забыли братьев.
брат
brother
они
they
забыть
to forget (perfective)
из-за
because of; from behind
Questions & Answers about Из-за преданности королю они забыли братьев.
Why is the word for brothers written as братьев here?
братьев is the plural Accusative form of брат. The plural of брат is irregular, starting with братья in the Nominative. For these irregular -ья plurals, the Genitive and Animate Accusative forms end in -ьев, giving us братьев.
If братьев is the direct object of забыли, why does it have a Genitive ending?
It is actually in the Accusative case! Because brothers are living beings, the noun is animate. For all animate nouns in the plural, the Accusative case perfectly copies the Genitive case form. Therefore, the Accusative plural of братья is братьев.
Why is королю in the Dative case without any preposition?
The noun преданность (loyalty) directly takes the Dative case to indicate who the loyalty is directed towards. Just as you might give something to the king (королю), you have loyalty to the king (преданность королю), so no preposition is needed.
Why does the word for loyalty, преданность, end in -и in this sentence?
The preposition из-за (because of) always requires the Genitive case. Since преданность is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign (known as the 3rd declension), its Genitive ending is -и, making it преданности.