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German Dative Case (Dativ)

In this lesson, we will dive into the German dative case, a crucial element of the German language that pertains to the indirect object of a sentence.

Understanding German Dative Case

The German dative case is one element of the language’s four-case system, commonly identified as the “indirect object” case. It is utilized to signify the recipient of an action or the object impacted by an action.

Before diving deeper into the dative case, let’s start with a concise summary of the roles of the German cases, as delineated in Table 1.1.

CasesRoleDescription
Nominativesubjectperforms action
Accusativedirect objectaffected by action
Dativeindirect objectrecipient of action
Genitivepossessiveindicates ownership
Table 1.1

After understanding the basic functions of each case, it’s the right time to delve deeper into the dative case.

The German dative case corresponds to the English indirect object and indicates the recipient of an action or the object affected by the action.

🇩🇪 Ich (Nominative) gebe dem Mann (Dative) das Buch (Accusative).
🇺🇸 I give the man the book.

In this sentence, “Ich” is the subject acting. “Das Buch” is the direct object, the thing being given, making it accusative. “Dem Mann” is the indirect object, the book’s recipient, making it dative. Subjects conjugate verbs, so here, “geben” is conjugated by “Ich”.

So, in sentences with a verb that involves giving, telling, or showing, the dative case is used to show the recipient of the action.

Article Declension in Dative Case

In German, articles “the” and “a” change in the dative case, just as they do in the accusative case. This is called “declension”. For instance, in the example sentence we discussed, “dem Mann” is in the dative case. Here, “der Mann” (the man) changes to “dem Mann” in dative. This change of “der” to “dem” is part of the declension of articles in the dative case.

The declension of definite and indefinite articles in the dative case is shown in Table 1.2:

CasesMasculineFeminineNeutralPlural
Nominativeder
ein
kein
die
eine
keine
das
ein
kein
die
✖️
keine
Accusativeden
einen
keinen
die
eine
keine
das
ein
kein
die
✖️
keine
Dativedem
einem
keinem
der
einer
keiner
dem
einem
keinem
den
✖️
keinen
Table 1.2 – Article Declension in Dative Case

❗ Remembering the declension of articles is essential for correctly using the dative case in German. For example, consider the declensions of the words in Table 1.3:

CasesSingularPlural
NominativDer Stuhl
Chair

Die Frau
Woman

Das Haus
Haus
Die Stühle
Chairs

Die Frauen
Women

Die Häuser
Hauses
AkkusativDen Stuhl
Chair

Die Frau
Woman

Das Haus
Haus
Die Stühle
Chairs

Die Frauen
Women

Die Häuser
Hauses
DativDem Stuhl
Chair

Der Frau
Woman

Dem Haus
Haus
Den Stühlen
Chairs

Den Frauen
Women

Den Häusern
Hauses
Table 1.3

In Which Situations Is Dative Case Used?

  • To identify the indirect object in German, locate the verb and ask, “wem (to whom) or was (to what)”.
    • 🇩🇪 Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. (Wem gibst du das Buch?)
    • 🇺🇸 I give the book to the man. (To whom do you give the book?)
    • 🇩🇪 Er hilft dem Kind. (Wem hilft er?)
    • 🇺🇸 He helps the child. (To whom does he help?)
  • The primary function of the dative case in German is to mark the indirect object (indirektes Objekt = Dativobjekt) of transitive verbs.
    • 🇩🇪 Er schenkt der Frau Blumen.
    • 🇺🇸 He gives the woman flowers.
  • Dative is also employed with dative prepositions.
    • 🇩🇪 Ich warte auf dem Bahnhof.
    • 🇺🇸 I wait at the station.

Some common dative prepositions are listed in Table 1.4:

ausout of, from
außerexcept for
beiat, with
mitwith
nachafter, to
seitsince, for
vonfrom, of
zuto, at
Table 1.4
  • Dative is used with fixed expressions (mit festen Wendungen).
    • 🇩🇪 Viel Glück!
    • 🇺🇸 Good luck!

Some common fixed expressions are listed in Table 1.5:

guten Morgengood morning
guten Taggood day
guten Abendgood evening
gute Nachtgood night
Table 1.5
  • Verbs requiring the dative case (Verben mit Dativ) use the dative.
    • 🇩🇪 Er hilft dem Kind.
    • 🇺🇸 He helps the child.
    • 🇩🇪 Ich danke dem Mann.
    • 🇺🇸 I thank the man.
    • 🇩🇪 Er antwortet dem Lehrer.
    • 🇺🇸 He answers the teacher.

Some common German dative verbs are listed in Table 1.6:

helfento help
dankento thank
antwortento answer
gefallento like
glaubento believe
folgento follow
Table 1.6
  • Objects in the dative case can be a person (Person) or a thing (Sache), and they can be singular or plural:
    • 🇩🇪 Thomas gibt Maria das Buch.
    • 🇺🇸 Thomas gives Maria the book.
    • 🇩🇪 Thomas gibt dem Kind das Buch.
    • 🇺🇸 Thomas gives the child the book.
    • 🇩🇪 Thomas gibt ihm das Buch.
    • 🇺🇸 Thomas gives him the book.

By now, you should have a strong grasp of the German dative case, its rules, and its applications. Remember, practice is key to mastering any language, so keep practicing and don’t hesitate to revisit this lesson whenever you need a refresher. Viel Erfolg (Good luck) on your German language journey!

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