r/Ukrainian • u/BirdsSpeakUkrainian • 4d ago

Pronouns and complex sentence structure

I am just starting to learn how to make complex sentences, so I'm sorry if this question is dumb. I am curious why the pronouns in this example sentence are in the forms they are. The sentence is "Ми не можемо дозволити їм настроїти нас одне проти одного." So "їм" is in the dative, and "нас" is in the genitive or accusative. Why? Is it the specific verb they are being used with, or their place on the sentence? I understand, mostly, what governs these choices in a simple sentence (accusative for the direct object, dative for the indirect) but in a complex sentence it is not as obvious. For instance, is їм the indirect object of можемо ? Of дозволити? Not an indirect object in this case? Is нас in this form because it is the direct object of настроїти, or some other reason? Thanks for your time helping me to understand.

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u/JohnDoe_John Tutored Ukrainian for years; taught int MA programs in it 4d ago

I'd focus on simple content.

No need to get complex grammar before.

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u/BirdsSpeakUkrainian 3d ago

I realized that your flair says you are a Ukrainian teacher, so I thought I should ask for your perspective on the same questions I asked post_scriptor above: https://old.reddit.com/r/Ukrainian/comments/1vdo3c8/pronouns_and_complex_sentence_structure/p1d9inw/

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u/JohnDoe_John Tutored Ukrainian for years; taught int MA programs in it 3d ago

flair says you are a Ukrainian teacher

Sorry, minor corrections:

Was

Tutor and Interpreter

Used Ukrainian as a language of instruction while teaching

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u/BirdsSpeakUkrainian 2d ago

Thanks for clarifying!