Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about У меня получилось!
The lesson is about 'удаться' taking the dative case. Why does this sentence use 'у меня' instead of 'мне'?
While удаться (to succeed/manage) takes the dative case (мне удалось), its very common synonym получиться uses the у + genitive construction (у меня получилось). Both basically mean 'I managed it' or 'I succeeded,' but they require different grammar structures to state who is succeeding.
Why is the verb получилось in the neuter form here?
This is an impersonal sentence, meaning there is no specific grammatical subject doing the action. In Russian, when a past-tense verb acts impersonally to mean a general 'it worked out' or 'it happened,' it always takes the neuter singular ending -о.
Why use the perfective verb получиться here instead of the imperfective получаться?
The perfective aspect here emphasizes the successful final result of the action. You use получилось when you have finally accomplished the task ('I did it!'). If you were in the middle of trying and wanted to say 'It is working out' or 'I am getting the hang of it,' you would use the imperfective present tense: У меня получается.
Is there any difference in meaning between у меня получилось and мне удалось?
They are often entirely interchangeable, but получиться is slightly more informal and conversational. Удаться can sometimes imply overcoming a bigger difficulty or obstacle ('I managed to...'), whereas получиться often just means 'it worked out' or 'it turned out well'.