A2 · The four cases
The dative
the indirect object case
To whom, for whom — and after a fixed list of prepositions and a fixed list of verbs.
The dative marks the person something is given, said, shown or sent to. Ich gebe dem Kind einen Apfel — the child receives, the apple is given, and the two cases keep them apart. English shows the same difference with word order or with "to": "I give the child an apple" or "I give an apple to the child".
The forms are worth learning as a block, because unlike the accusative the dative changes all four: dem, der, dem, and den in the plural — where the noun itself also picks up an -n. The feminine der is the one that catches people out, because it looks exactly like the masculine nominative.
Beyond the indirect object, the dative has two other jobs and both are learned as lists. A group of prepositions always takes it: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu. And a group of verbs takes a dative where English uses a direct object: helfen, danken, folgen, antworten, gehören, gefallen, passen.
Die Form
| masculine | dem Mann / einem Mann |
| feminine | der Frau / einer Frau |
| neuter | dem Kind / einem Kind |
| plural, the noun adds -n | den Leuten / Leuten |
| question | Wem? |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
The indirect object — the receiver — stands in the dative.
Ich schicke meiner Schwester ein Paket.I am sending my sister a parcel.
aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von and zu always take the dative.
Ich fahre mit dem Bus zur Arbeit.I go to work by bus.
helfen, danken, folgen, antworten, gehören, gefallen and passen take a dative, not an accusative.
Kannst du mir helfen?Can you help me?
In the dative plural the noun itself adds -n unless it already ends in -n or -s.
mit den Kindern, mit den Autoswith the children, with the cars
Genauer hingesehen
Why some verbs take a dative
The dative verbs are not random, but the pattern behind them is old and only half visible. Most of them describe something happening to a person rather than something done to them: you help someone by acting in their interest, something belongs to them, something pleases them, something suits them. The person is affected rather than acted on.
That is a real distinction and it explains most of the list, but it will not let you predict a new verb reliably, and a rule that is right four times in five is worse than a list for something you use every day. Treat the pattern as a memory aid and the list as the fact.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
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the preposition is in, an, auf, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben or zwischen
the dative means position and the accusative means movement towards.
Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.The book is lying on the table.
These nine can express either a place or a direction, and the case is what says which.
-
the verb is one of the few taking two objects — geben, zeigen, schicken, erklären, bringen
the person is dative and the thing is accusative.
Er zeigt dem Kunden das Angebot.He shows the customer the offer.
The two cases are what keep the two objects apart, which is exactly what they are for.
Woran man es erkennt
- wem
- dem
- der
- den
- mit
- bei
- nach
- zu
- von
- seit
- aus
Beispielsätze
Das gehört meinem Bruder.That belongs to my brother.
Wir fahren mit dem Zug nach Wien.We are going to Vienna by train.
Wie geht es Ihnen?How are you?
Das Kleid steht dir gut.That dress suits you.
Nach dem Essen gehen wir spazieren.After the meal we will go for a walk.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Ich danke dir für den Tipp.Thank you for the tip.
Sie wohnt bei ihren Eltern.She lives with her parents.
Seit einem Jahr lerne ich Deutsch.I have been learning German for a year.
Gefällt dir die Wohnung?Do you like the flat?
Er antwortet mir nicht.He does not answer me.
Wir kommen gerade aus der Stadt.We have just come from town.
Das passt mir gut.That suits me well.
Erzähl mir bitte, was passiert ist.Please tell me what happened.
Besonderheiten (2)
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The dative pronouns are used constantly
<z>Mir</z>, <z>dir</z>, <z>ihm</z>, <z>ihr</z>, <z>uns</z>, <z>euch</z>, <z>ihnen</z>, <z>Ihnen</z> turn up in more everyday sentences than the dative nouns do: <z>wie geht es dir</z>, <z>das gefällt mir</z>, <z>kannst du mir helfen</z>, <z>ist mir egal</z>. Learning the eight pronouns before the article table gets you further faster, and the article table then looks familiar rather than new.
Mir ist kalt und dir?I am cold — are you?
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zum, zur, vom, beim, im, am are contractions
Dative prepositions run into the article and are written as one word: <z>zu dem</z> becomes <z>zum</z>, <z>zu der</z> becomes <z>zur</z>, <z>von dem</z> becomes <z>vom</z>, <z>bei dem</z> <z>beim</z>, <z>in dem</z> <z>im</z>, <z>an dem</z> <z>am</z>. These are not optional in speech — the uncontracted form sounds emphatic, as if the particular one were being singled out.
Ich gehe zum Arzt und dann zur Post.I am going to the doctor and then to the post office.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
English has a direct object after "help", so the accusative arrives by itself and is wrong. The list of dative verbs is short and closed — helfen, danken, folgen, antworten, gehören, gefallen, passen, gratulieren, begegnen — and it has to be learned as a list, because nothing about their meaning predicts it. Learn them with a pronoun attached: mir helfen, mir danken.
mir, dir, ihm — and mit, bei, nach, zu.
Jetzt selbst
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