Breakdown of Жюри дало премию Стивену Спилбергу.
дать
to give
жюри
jury
премия
award, prize
Стивен
Stephen
Спилберг
Spielberg
Questions & Answers about Жюри дало премию Стивену Спилбергу.
Why do both the first and last name in Стивену Спилбергу get dative endings? Aren't foreign names sometimes indeclinable?
Foreign male names and surnames that end in a consonant decline just like regular Russian masculine nouns (like брат or студент). Since the award is given to him, both Стивен and Спилберг take the standard dative ending -у.
What if the jury gave the award to a woman named "Sarah Spielberg"? How would her name decline here?
Her first name would decline, but her last name wouldn't! In Russian, foreign female surnames ending in a consonant are completely indeclinable. If the award went to her, the sentence would end with Саре Спилберг.
Why is the verb дало in the neuter form if жюри ends in -и?
Жюри (jury) is an indeclinable borrowed word. While indeclinable loanwords that refer to specific people (like атташе or маэстро) are usually masculine, collective groups like жюри are treated as neuter. That's why it pairs with the neuter past-tense verb дало.
Doesn't the spelling rule say we should never write ю after ж? Why is жюри spelled this way?
You have a good memory! The standard Russian spelling rule dictates that you must write у (not ю) after the letters ж, ш, ч, and щ. However, жюри is a French loanword and is one of the very few formal exceptions to this rule. Another common exception you might know is парашют (parachute).
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