Lesson 17: Dativ: another case
After the Nominativ and the Akkusativ, let’s see another case in German: the Dativ. There are different uses:
1) as an indirect object. We know that direct objects are in the Akkusativ. The indirect object is the person or thing that receives/gets the direct object. Let’s see two examples:
- The man gives the dog to his child.
- The teacher explains the dogs how to behave.
The direct object is found by asking what/who did the subject do with the verb. So that’s:
- Who/what did the man give? – the dog
- Who/what did the teacher explain? – how to behave
The indirect object now:
- What/who was given the dog? -his child
- What/who was explained how to behave? -the dogs
2) as a direct object with a limited number of verbs. Some verbs use the Dativ for their direct object. Luckily, it’s only a limited number of verbs. Some examples are below, there’s a full list here.
- glauben (to believe)
- danken (to thank)
- helfen (to help)
- vertrauen (to trust)
3) Some prepositions we’ll see later.
How is the Dativ conjugated?
For the articles and the possessive, it’s -m -r -m -n (n), I remember it by the words ‘mormon +n’. So for example I thank… will be:
- Ich danke dem Mann.
- Ich danke der Frau.
- Ich danke dem Kind.
- Ich danke den Kindern.
Noticed the n at the end of Kindern? Good! That’s the n between ( ). It’s added in the plural to the noun, but only if it fits. For example, if the plural ends with -s then you can’t add an n, and neither if the plural already ends with -n. Let’s practice!
Exercises
Underline the Dativ in these sentences:
- Er öffnet das Buch.
Wir geben Andreas Julia.
Ihr dankt Franz.
Wir müssen die Häuser haben.
Er kan es dem Herr nicht sagen.
Translate the sentences:
- I trust the university.
We give the honey to the children.
The people develop questions.
I help a woman.
They believe the female cats!
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Solutions
- Er öffnet das Buch.
Wir geben Andreas Julia.
Ihr dankt Franz.
Wir müssen die Häuser haben.
Er kann es dem Herr nicht sagen - Ich vertraue der Universität.
Wir geben den Kindern den Honig
Die menschen entwickeln Fragen.
Ich helfe einer Frau.
Sie glauben den Katzen!