dziewczynom

Dziewczynom is the dative plural form of the Polish noun dziewczyna, which means a girl or a young woman. In Polish grammar, this form marks the indirect object or beneficiary of an action, or the target of certain verbs and prepositions that govern the dative case.

In the full common decline of dziewczyna, the dative plural is dziewczynom. The related forms include nominative plural dziewczyny, genitive plural dziewczyn, instrumental plural dziewczynami, locative plural dziewczynach, and vocative plural dziewczyny. The dative plural is used when the action is directed toward the girls or when the context requires the dative case, such as with verbs like dać, dziękować, pomagać, and with some prepositional constructions.

Examples:

- Dałem cukier dziewczynom. (I gave the sugar to the girls.)

- Dziękuję dziewczynom za pomoc. (I thank the girls for the help.)

- Pomagałem dziewczynom w organizacji. (I helped the girls with the organization.)

Etymology and usage notes:

Dziewczyna originates from older Polish terms for a girl or young woman and is cognate with related Slavic words such as Russian devushka and Croatian djevojka. The dative plural dziewczynom appears consistently in standard Polish and is widely used in everyday speech and writing to indicate the beneficiaries or recipients in a sentence.

Summary:

Dziewczynom is a grammatical form rather than a distinct lexical item. It governs the indirect object, signaling that the action is directed toward or benefiting the plural group of girls.