Dative for the Recipient

Level 2Sounds Like davalʹny atrymalʹníka

The person who gets something is in the dative: Я даю кнігу брату (I give the book to my brother). English uses "to"; Belarusian uses only the case ending.

How It Works

Who gets what. A giving sentence has two objects: the thing, in the accusative, and the person, in the dative. No preposition is needed:

  • Я даю кнігу брату. (I give the book to my brother.)
  • Мы дорым маме кветкі. (We are giving Mom flowers.)

Communicating. пісаць маме (to write to Mom), тэлефанаваць сябру (to call a friend), сказаць сястры (to tell your sister). Тэлефанаваць and дапамагаць take the dative in Belarusian even though English "call" and "help" do not use "to": Я дапамагаю тату (I help Dad). More verbs like these are in verbs taking the dative.

Pronouns. мне, табе, яму, ёй, нам, вам, ім: Дай мне кнігу (Give me the book), Я пішу ёй (I am writing to her). See personal pronoun case forms.

Word order. The order is flexible, and new or important information usually comes last: Я даю кнігу брату (to my brother, not to someone else), Я даю брату кнігу (a book, not something else).

Dative or для? Я купляю маме кветкі and Я купляю кветкі для мамы both mean "I am buying flowers for Mom". With даваць, казаць and тэлефанаваць, use the plain dative, not для or да. With пісаць the plain dative is the everyday choice, but you will also see да when a letter is addressed to someone: ліст да сябра (a letter to a friend).

Examples (6)

  1. Я даю кнігу брату.

    I give the book to my brother.

    Брат → брату; the book stays in the accusative.

  2. Мы дорым маме кветкі.

    We are giving Mom flowers.

    Мама → маме.

  3. Я кожны дзень тэлефаную сябру.

    I call my friend every day.

    Тэлефанаваць takes the dative: сябар → сябру.

  4. Напішы маме, калі ласка.

    Please write to Mom.

    The person you write to is in the dative.

  5. Скажы сястры праўду.

    Tell your sister the truth.

    Сястра → сястры.

  6. Я дапамагаю тату ў садзе.

    I help Dad in the garden.

    Дапамагаць takes the dative: тата → тату.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding да before the recipient.

    Я даю кнігу да брата.
    Я даю кнігу брату.

    Да + genitive marks movement toward a person. The one who receives something is in the plain dative.

  • Using the accusative after тэлефанаваць.

    Я тэлефаную сябра.
    Я тэлефаную сябру.

    In Belarusian you call "to" someone: тэлефанаваць takes the dative.

How It Connects

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Dative for the RecipientLevel 2

Learn This First

The recipient needs the dative endings.

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Words in This Pattern

хто