Breakdown of По приезде на дачу дедушка начал сыпать удобрение под деревья.
дерево
tree
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
дедушка
grandfather
дача
dacha, summer house
приезд
arrival
под
under
начать
to begin (perfective)
по
upon / after (formal, e.g., upon arrival)
сыпать
to scatter
удобрение
fertilizer
Questions & Answers about По приезде на дачу дедушка начал сыпать удобрение под деревья.
Why is it по приезде and not по приезду? I thought по takes the dative case.
When по means "upon" or "after," it actually requires the prepositional case. So "upon arrival" is strictly по приезде. You will often hear native speakers use the dative (по приезду) in everyday speech, but standard written grammar requires the prepositional here.
Why do we use the accusative на дачу right after the noun приезде?
The noun приезде (arrival) implies motion toward a destination, just like the verb it comes from (приехать). Because of this implied motion, it takes the directional accusative на дачу (to the dacha) rather than the locational prepositional на даче.
Could we use a perfective verb like насыпать instead of the imperfective сыпать here?
No. The verb сыпать follows начал (started). In Russian, verbs that describe the beginning, continuation, or end of an action (often called phase verbs) must always be followed by an imperfective infinitive.
Why is it под деревья (accusative) rather than под деревьями (instrumental)?
The preposition под takes the accusative case to show the direction or destination of an action. Since the grandfather is actively moving the fertilizer into the area under the trees, we use the accusative под деревья. If we were just describing where the fertilizer already was resting, we would use the instrumental под деревьями.
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