"Мне только что подарили огромный торт."

Translation: I have just been given a huge cake as a present.

[aegray]

Why could it not be подарил? If it's an unknown actor is it by default plural?

[kyashtyur]

Yes. It is used when the specific actors are not important, so a generalized "they" is used.

[KerriKerri1]

Interesting, can anyone give some other examples of when this is used?

[ilya.z]

Мне сказали, что я должен прийти.

Моё место заняли.

Мне назначили лечение.

Забор покрасили.

У меня украли сумку. (Even if you know, that it was one guy)

Мне дали задание.

Меня назначили начальником.

Мне продали некачественный товар.

[Dmitry_Arch]

It is the most common way of translating the English Passive Voice into Russian

[LennartLRM]

And also in English, "they gave me a cake" can be used as a (more idiomatic) substitute for "a cake was given to me" while "he/she gave me a cake" cannot.

[dave.pretty]

"presented"?

[mirvessin]

much better than the awkward "given as a present" they provided.

[NickChandl3]

What is wrong with "A huge cake was given to me just now"

[sebool112]

Because «подарить» means "to gift", but I think your translation shouldn't be wrong.

[Harry.TP]

Could 'I was only just given a huge cake' be accepted? Insisting on the translation of 'given as a present' is a bit harsh...

[Dmitry_Arch]

"As as a present" is indeed redundant. But I would use the Present Perfect tense: "I have just been given".

[bourdk]

The "huge cake" in question could also have been "gifted" to me.

[kirshner1]

What does только что means?

[Dmitry_Arch]

It means 'just' as in 'have just done'

[mirvessin]

Immediately before, a split second before, very recently.

[romannt]

Is it correct to translate this phrase: "They just presented me a huge cake"?

[Dmitry_Arch]

No. It should be the translation suggested by DL, or "They have just presented me with a huge cake" or "They have just presented a huge cake to me".

[HansKeller4]

Why "as a present"?!

[Dmitry_Arch]

It is because дарить/подарить means “to give as a present”, unlike «давать/дать» which simply means “to give” or “to lend” (in «дать на время» or «дать взаймы»).

[AnnetteCair2]

So literally this would be " They (unidentified) just gave me an enormous cake" ?

[Dmitry_Arch]

Correct. “They’ve just given me an enormous cake”, to be more exact.

[AnnetteCair2]

Thank you very much!

[DavidTerry543359]

"I have just been given as a present, a huge cake.". Why is this translation not acceptable.

[Scian4]

I'll be over in a jiffy...

[Colin178883]

Why is I have been given as a present a huge cake marked as wrong ?

[MatejPavlk1]

I think English translation is wrong in all sentences using "подарить" here. It means "to gift". If you want to say "give" you will say "дать"

[Nikki922042]

What would "I just gave a huge cake (as a present)" be in Russian?

[Kundoo]

"Я только что подарил/подарила огромный торт"

[Nikki922042]

Thank you, Kundoo!
(Sorry about taking so long to reply, I couldn't figure out how to leave a reply to a reply - IT is not one of my strengths).

[Cornette313920]

Can someone tell me why "I have just been gifted a giant cake." is not correct?

[Dmitry_Arch]

The word ‘gifted’ is just not used in this context; it should be either ‘given’ or ‘presented with’. In fact, ‘gifted’ is an adjective synonymous with ‘talented’. The verb ‘to gift’ means ‘to donate for charity’ and is not used very often.