Why does "I love" translate to "Я люблю", whereas "I like" doesn't use the Russian "я" for "I"?

Saying that you "like" something in Russian uses a different structure to saying that you "love" something (я люблю). You would use мне нравится to mean "I like" and that literally translates to "...appeals to me". Мне is the first person pronoun "I" (or я) in the dative case, i.e. "to me", and нравится means "to appeal to" or "to be liked by". However, нравится is a verb, therefore it must decline according to the subject of the sentence, i.e. what appeals to you (what you like). If it is one thing that you like, e.g. a book, it is мне нравится книга, where нравится is used for the singular. Therefore, if you like more than one book (the books), then нравится would change to нравятся - мне нравятся книги (I like the books).

YS
Answered by Yoan S. Russian tutor

2934 Views

See similar Russian GCSE tutors

Related Russian GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do I learn when to use each case and not confuse them in speech or writing?


What is meant by дательный падеж and what is an example of where it is used?


Translate this passage into English: " Я живу в деревне. У нас маленький домик. Я люблю жить там, потому что очень тихо. Мы жили в городе, но было довольно шумно. Мой отец работает врачом в городской больнице."


What case do you use when you want to say you don't have something?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences