Questions & Answers about Дети не любят уколы.
Why is the word for "children" дети when the singular word for child is ребёнок?
The noun ребёнок (child) has a highly irregular plural form: дети (children). This means it uses a completely different root word in the plural, very similar to how "person" becomes "people" in English.
We are currently learning the pain construction (e.g., У меня болит...). Why isn't a structure like that used here?
The У + Genitive + болит construction is specifically used to say that a body part physically hurts (e.g., "My head aches"). This sentence isn't describing active physical pain; it's simply stating a general preference about who dislikes what. Therefore, it uses a standard subject-verb-object structure: Nominative subject (дети) + verb + Accusative object (уколы).
What case is уколы in, and why doesn't its ending look different from the dictionary plural?
It is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object of не любят (do not like). Because укол (injection) is an inanimate masculine noun, its Accusative plural form is exactly the same as its Nominative plural form (уколы). If it were an animate noun (like animals or people), the Accusative plural ending would change to match the Genitive.
Is укол the standard medical word for an injection?
Yes, in everyday speech, укол is the most common word for a shot or injection. It literally comes from the verb колоть, which means "to prick" or "to pierce."