Breakdown of Он дал нам полный ответ.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
мы
we
ответ
answer
дать
to give
полный
full, complete
Questions & Answers about Он дал нам полный ответ.
How would we change this sentence to say "He himself gave us a complete answer"?
You would add сам right after the subject: Он сам дал нам полный ответ. Since он is masculine singular, we use the masculine singular form сам.
Why use the perfective verb дал instead of the imperfective давал here?
Дал is used because giving the answer was a single, successfully completed action. If you used давал, it would imply he was in the process of giving the answer (but maybe didn't finish), or that he repeatedly gave answers.
Why is the pronoun нам used here instead of нас?
Нам is the dative case of мы (we). The dative case is used for the indirect object, answering the question "to whom?". He gave the answer to us.
What case is полный ответ, and why does it look exactly like the dictionary form?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing being given). However, for masculine inanimate nouns like ответ, the accusative form is identical to the nominative (dictionary) form, so both the noun and its adjective полный remain unchanged.
Learn Он дал нам полный ответ 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