Plural age, necessity, and distributive по
Dative plural marks the group; по can distribute an age, object, or allocation across its members.
- ну́жно is an impersonal predicative with an infinitive. нужны́ is a short adjective agreeing with plural словари́. The dative group appears in both constructions.
| Construction | Example | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| group age | Де́тям де́сять лет. | The children are ten. |
| distributed age | Де́тям по де́сять лет. | Each child is ten. |
| necessity | Студе́нтам ну́жно рабо́тать. | The students need to work. |
| needed items | Студе́нтам нужны́ словари́. | The students need dictionaries. |
| distribution | по кни́ге ка́ждому студе́нту | one book to each student |
Mini-check
1. Contrast: students need to work / students need dictionaries. 2. What does по add in Де́тям по де́сять лет?
Apply this next
- Retrieve the rule without looking, then continue to the next lesson.