| nom. | gen. | dat. | acc. | inst. | prep. |
| Нет предела совершенству. There is no limit to perfection. [saying] |
| Яблоку негде упасть. There’s no room to move. [saying] |
| Азбука – к мудрости ступенька. You have to learn to walk before you can run. [saying] |
| Счёт дружбе не помеха. Even reckoning makes long friends. [saying] |
| Purpose |
The dative case is the third case in Russian. It answers the questions чему? and кому? Its purpose is to indicate the indirect object in a sentence. This case has a lower frequency, in comparison with other cases.
| For more info on how to use the dative case, click here. |
| To learn the dative plural, click here. |
| Compared to the other cases, this one is relatively straightforward and has very few exceptions. Yet, personally, I occasionally forget the endings. :p |
| Formation |
Forming this case is relatively easy. See for yourself.
Masculine
| consonant + у | магазин [store] офис [office] студент [student] | магазину – офису – студенту – |
| –й becomes –ю | музей [museum] трамвай [tram] | музею – трамваю – |
| –ь becomes –ю | корабль [boat] роль [role] | кораблю – ролю – |
Feminine
| –а becomes –е | бабушка [grandmother] дедушка [grandfather] | бабушке – дедушке – |
| –я becomes –е | неделя [week] статья [article] | неделе – статье – |
| –ь becomes –и | постель [bed] соль [salt] | постели – соли – |
Neuter
| –е becomes –ю | море [sea] платье [dress] | морю – платью – |
| –о becomes –у | место [place] озеро [sea] | месту – озеру – |
And there you have it! Stay tuned for the dative plural. That will be our next case post.
| Click the link below to download a grammar summary of this lesson. |
| Last Edit: 09/10/2026. |