Breakdown of Жюри дало премию Мерил Стрип.
дать
to give
жюри
jury
премия
award, prize
Мерил
Meryl
Стрип
Streep
Questions & Answers about Жюри дало премию Мерил Стрип.
Why isn't Мерил Стрип in the dative case here?
It actually is in the dative case grammatically! However, foreign female names and surnames that end in a consonant (like Мерил and Стрип) are indeclinable in Russian—their endings never change. If the recipient were a man with a consonant-ending name, both the first name and surname would decline (for example, Брэду Питту).
How do we know Мерил Стрип is the recipient (indirect object) if her name doesn't change?
We rely on context and the other words in the sentence. Премия (award) clearly changes to the accusative премию, making it the direct object. Logic dictates that the award is being given to the person. When dealing with indeclinable nouns, Russian relies on context and standard word order to prevent ambiguity.
Why is the verb дало in the neuter form?
It agrees with the subject, жюри. Жюри is an indeclinable borrowed noun. In Russian, the vast majority of indeclinable borrowed nouns that don't refer to specific male or female individuals (like метро, кафе, and жюри) are assigned to the neuter gender, even when they represent a group of people.
Could I use the plural дали since a jury is made up of multiple people?
You might hear native speakers do this in casual speech because they are thinking of the individual members. However, according to standard Russian grammar rules, collective indeclinable nouns like жюри are strictly neuter singular, so дало is the correct standard form.
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