Russian Dative Case in the Plural
Practice this lesson with interactive exercises:
In this lesson, you will learn how to use the Dative Case in the plural in Russian.
If you already know how to use the Dative Case in the singular, learning the plural will be very easy.
It's used in the same situations as the dative singular and there are only a few endings for you to memorize.
If you don’t know yet how to use the Dative Case in the singular, you can check out our complete lesson about it clicking here.
The Dative Case of Nouns in the Plural
Nouns in the dative plural have only two endings: АМ and ЯМ.
Let’s take a look at when we need to use each of these endings.
1) АМ
When a noun ends in А, add the letter М:
When a masculine noun ends in a consonant, add АМ:
When a neuter noun ends in О, replace О with АМ:
2) ЯМ
When a noun ends in Я, add the letter М:
When a noun ends in Е, replace Е with ЯМ:
When a noun ends in Ь or Й, replace these letters with ЯМ:
Keep in mind that according to Russian spelling rules, we can’t write Я after ж, ч, ш and щ. Instead, we need to write А:
Note that some nouns have irregular forms in the dative plural. You should try to memorize such nouns as you come across them. Here are the most common of them:
Now that you know what endings nouns have in the dative plural, let's take a look at the endings of adjectives.
The Dative Case of Adjectives in the Plural
Adjectives in the dative plural also have only two endings: ЫМ and ИМ.
When the adjective ends in ЫЕ, replace ЫЕ with ЫМ:
- (old friends)
- (young people)
- (smart kids)
Let’s take a look at a few sentences:
- (Young people like music)
- (I write to old friends)
- (Smart kids like to study)
When the adjective ends in ИЕ, replace ИЕ with ИМ:
- (small children)
- (Russian people)
- (good students)
Let’s take a look at some sentences:
- (Small children need to sleep a lot)
- (Good students don’t need to do the test)
- (Russian people like blini)
Possessive Pronouns in the Dative Plural
Here’s a table of possessive pronouns in the dative plural:
Note that the pronouns его, её and их never change.
Let's take a look at a few sentences with possessive pronouns in the dative plural:
- (My parents are 50 years old)
- (How old are your children?)
- (Their children like music)
And that’s it for this lesson. Now you know how to use the Dative Case in the Plural.
