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Now that you understand the nominative and accusative cases, let’s introduce the dative case. The dative case is used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence. It’s also used with certain prepositions.

What is the Indirect Object?

The indirect object is the person or thing that benefits from or is affected by the action of the verb. It’s often the recipient of something.

Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. (I give the man the book.) – «Dem Mann» is the indirect object; he is receiving the book.

Sie schenkt ihrer Freundin eine Blume. (She gives her friend a flower.) – «Ihrer Freundin» is the indirect object; she is receiving the flower.

Think of it this way: The direct object is what is being given, shown, or done, and the indirect object is to whom it’s being given, shown, or done.

How the Dative Changes Articles

The dative case changes all the definite and indefinite articles. Here’s how:

Masculine:

Definite article: der becomes dem

Indefinite article: ein becomes einem

Feminine:

Definite article: die becomes der

Indefinite article: eine becomes einer

Neuter:

Definite article: das becomes dem

Indefinite article: ein becomes einem

Plural:

Definite article: die becomes den (and the noun usually takes an -n ending, if it doesn’t already have one)

There is no indefinite article in the plural.

Notice that the masculine and neuter definite articles become the same (dem) in the dative, and the feminine definite article becomes the same as the masculine nominative article (der).

Pronouns in the Dative

Personal pronouns also change in the dative case. Here’s how:

ich (I) becomes mir (me)

du (you – informal, singular) becomes dir (you – informal, singular)

er (he) becomes ihm (him)

sie (she) becomes ihr (her)

es (it) becomes ihm (it)

wir (we) becomes uns (us)

ihr (you – informal, plural) becomes euch (you – informal, plural)

sie (they) becomes ihnen (them)

Sie (you – formal) becomes Ihnen (you – formal)

Examples with Dative Pronouns:

Ich helfe ihm. (ihh hel-fe eem) – I help him.

Sie dankt mir. (zee dankt meer) – She thanks me.

Wir geben euch das Buch. (veer gay-ben oihh das buuh) – We give you (plural, informal) the book.

Prepositions That Always Take the Dative

Certain prepositions always take the dative case, regardless of the verb in the sentence. Memorizing these prepositions is essential. Here are some of the most common:

mit (mit) – with

nach (nahh) – to (cities and countries), after

von (fon) – from, of

zu (tsoo) – to (people, buildings), at

aus (aus) – from, out of

bei (bai) – at, near

seit (zait) – since (time)

gegenüber (gay-gen-ü-ber) – opposite

Examples with Dative Prepositions:

Ich gehe mit dem Freund ins Kino. (ihh gay-e mit dem froint ins kee-no) – I go to the cinema with the friend. (dem Freund – dative because of «mit»)

Sie fährt nach Deutschland. (zee fairt nahh doitch-lant) – She is traveling to Germany. (nach Deutschland – dative because of «nach»)

Er kommt von der Arbeit. (air komt fon dare ar-bait) – He comes from work. (von der Arbeit – dative because of «von»)

Wir gehen zu dem Arzt. (veer gay-en tsoo dem artst) – We go to the doctor. (zu dem Arzt – dative because of «zu»)

Word Bank

Dativ (dah-teef) – Dative

indirektes Objekt (in-dee-rek-tes ob-yekt) – indirect object

dem (dehm) – the (masculine/neuter, dative)

der (dare) – the (feminine, dative)

den (dehn) – the (plural, dative)

einem (ai-nem) – a (masculine/neuter, dative)

einer (ai-ner) – a (feminine, dative)

mir (meer) – me (dative)

dir (deer) – you (dative, informal)

ihm (eem) – him/it (dative)

ihr (eer) – her (dative)

ihnen (ee-nen) – them (dative)

mit (mit) – with

nach (nahh) – to/after

von (fon) – from/of

zu (tsoo) – to/at

Exercises

Identify the dative object in the following sentences:

Ich zeige dem Kind das Bild. (I show the child the picture.)

Sie gibt der Mutter eine Blume. (She gives the mother a flower.)

Wir helfen den Studenten. (We help the students.)

Fill in the correct article in the dative case:

Ich gehe mit ______ Hund spazieren. (der Hund)

Sie fährt zu ______ Freundin. (die Freundin)

Er wohnt bei ______ Eltern. (die Eltern)

Fill in the blanks with the correct dative pronoun:

Ich danke ______. (du)

Sie hilft ______. (er)

Wir geben ______ das Buch. (ihr)

Translate the following sentences into German, paying attention to the dative case and prepositions:

I go to the cinema with my friend.

She is traveling to Austria.

He comes from work.

We are helping the children.

I give the book to her.

Rewrite the sentences in exercise 1, replacing the dative objects with the correct dative pronouns.

That’s Chapter 7 completed! You now understand the dative case and its usage with indirect objects and certain prepositions.