| Плохому началу – плохой конец. A bad beginning makes a bad ending. [saying] |
In this post, we’ll be learning how to form adjectives in the dative case. If you don’t know how adjectives function, please check out the nominative case of adjectives before reading onward.
Formation
| – | Nom. | Dat. |
|---|---|---|
| –ый* becomes –ому | какой? [what kind of?] интересный [interesting] | какому? – интересному – |
| –ая becomes –ой | какая? [what kind of?] интересная [interesting] | какой – интересной – |
| –ое becomes –ому | какое? [what kind of?] интересное [interesting] | какому? – интересному – |
| –ые becomes –ым | какие?** [what kind of?] интересные [interesting] | каким?** – интересным – |
**Don’t forget the spelling rules. They are always followed in Russian.
| As you can see from the table, the masculine and neuter forms coincide. |
In the tables, I put the adjectival ending in red and the noun in blue to indicate how the dative is used in context
| Nominative | Dative |
|---|---|
| Он талантливый студент. He is a talented student. | Таланливому студенту хочется достичь успехов. The talented student [m.] wants to achieve success. |
| Она талантливая студентка. She is a talented student. | Талантливой студентке хочется достичь успехов. The talented student [f.] wants to achieve success. |
| Это уродливое чудовище. This is a hideous monster. | Уродливому чудовищу хочется испугать ребёнка. The hideous monster wants to scare the child. |
| Они талантливые студенты. They are talented students. | Талантливым студентам хочетска достичь успехов. The talented students want to achieve success. |
Examples
Some more examples to further clarify dative endings:
| Иван даёт бедному человеку немного денег. Ivan gives the poor person some money. |
| София даёт голодным детям что-то поесть. Sofia gives the hungry children something to eat. |
| Ребёнок не доверяет уродливому чудовищу. The child doesn’t trust the hideous monster. |
| Борис идёт к дорогой подруге. Boris is going to a dear friend’s house. |
Soft Adjectives
| – | Nom. | Dat. |
|---|---|---|
| –ий becomes –ему | искренний [sincere] | искреннему – |
| –яя becomes –ей | искренняя [sincere] | искренней – |
| –ее becomes –ему | искреннее [sincere] | искреннему – |
| –ие becomes –им | искренние [sincere] | искренним – |
Soft adjectives are far scarcer than hard adjectives in Russian. There are some 40 or so in existence.
| Nominative | Dative |
|---|---|
| Он искренний парень. He’s a sincere guy. | Искреннему парню нравятся костюмы. The sincere guy likes suits. |
| Она искренняя девушка. She is a sincere girl. | Искренней девушке нравятся серьги. The sincere girl likes earrings. |
| Это искреннее чудовище. This is a sincere monster. | Искреннему чудовищу нравится пугать людей. The sincere monster likes to scare people. |
| Это синие дома. They are [dark] blue houses. | Я иду к синим домам. I’m going toward the [dark] blue houses. |
Examples
| Мы ездили по Ближнему Востоку. We traveled around the Middle East. |
| Я ходил по здешней площади. I walked around the local plaza. |
| Муравьи ползут к верхним ящикам. The ants are crawling toward the top drawers. |
| Последнему зданию нужен ремонт. The last building needs a repair. |
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And there it is; just about everything you need to know about adjectives in the dative case!
| Last Edit: 10/04/2026. |