Dative Case · 3cd4ad6667e320977dcaa4b6570a3aaf
Da‑Da‑Da‑DATIVE!
We’ve seen that when a noun receives the action (eg, I love my brother), it uses the accusative case, which can make words like ein and der change their endings.
A similar thing happens when you give something to someone, or show something to someone. That someone uses the dative case!
Der Hund gibt einem Mann einen Apfel.
The dog gives an apple (to) a man.
The dog gives a man an apple.
Wir zeigen einem Kind die Katze.
We show the cat (to) a child.
We show a child the cat.
Notice that in English, you’d use an extra word like to, but in German, you don’t need that! All you need to do is change the ending. You can use the abbreviation MRMN to remember both the ein word and der word patterns!
| basic form | dative form |
|---|---|
| der, mein the, my |
dem, meinem the, my |
| die, meine the, my |
der, meiner the, my |
| das, mein the, my |
dem, meinem the, my |
| die, meine the, my |
den, meinen the, my |
With plural nouns, you also need to add an ‑n to the end. Take a look!
Sie geben den Männern Bier.They give beer to the men.
Country Names
To say you are from a country, use the word aus.
Ich komme aus Deutschland.I come from Germany.
A few country names need the word the, similar to how we say the Netherlands in English! But keep in mind that aus uses dative endings.
Er kommt aus der Schweiz.
He comes from Switzerland.
Cool things we can’t do in English!
Case is important in German because word order is more flexible than in English! We often start a sentence with the doer, but in German, you can start with any of the nouns!
Sie geben den Frauen Wasser.
They give (to) the women water.
Den Frauen geben sie Wasser.
They give water (to) the women.
Wasser geben sie den Frauen.
Water give they (to) the women.
There are two rules to remember! First, the verb should be in the second position. Second, make sure to keep the action doer next to the verb. They like to be close to each other!