Dative Case

The dative case in German is used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence.

Example:

Ich gebe dem Mann ein Buch. (I give the man a book.)

Here, dem Mann is in the dative case because he is the indirect object receiving the book (note that the book is the direct object).

A simple way to identify which noun is in the dative case is by trying to answer the questions "to whom?" or "for whom?" (which will correspond to the indirect object)

Example:

Sie schreibt ihrem Freund einen Brief. (She writes her friend a letter.)

Ihrem Freund answers "To whom does she write a letter?" - hence it's in the dative case.

Dative Case Endings

Definite article, indefinite article, and other determiners change form depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun they accompany. Here are the forms in the dative case:

ㅤ	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Definite Article	dem dem Mann	der der Frau	dem dem Kind	den den Kindern
Indefinite Article	einem einem Mann	einer einer Frau	einem einem Kind	-
Demonstrative Determiner	diesem diesem Mann	dieser dieser Frau	diesem diesem Kind	diesen diesen Kindern
Possessive Determiner	meinem meinem Mann	meiner meiner Frau	meinem meinem Kind	meinen meinen Kindern

💡

In the dative case, most plural nouns add an extra -n at the end. This only applies if the plural form doesn't already end with -n or -s.

Examples: • mit den Kindern (with the children) • in den Autos (in the cars) - no change needed as it already ends in -s

Pronouns in the Dative Case

Personal pronouns also change in the dative case when replacing indirect objects:

Person	Nominative	Dative
1st Person Sing.	ich	mir
2nd Person Sing. informal	du	dir
3rd Person Sing. masculine	er	ihm
3rd Person Sing. feminine	sie	ihr
3rd Person Sing. neuter	es	ihm
1st Person Plural	wir	uns
2nd Person Plural informal	ihr	euch
3rd Person Plural	sie	ihnen
Formal (singular & plural)	Sie	Ihnen

Examples:

Der Lehrer gibt mir ein Buch. (The teacher gives me a book.)

Die Mutter kauft ihm ein Geschenk. (The mother buys him a gift.)

Das Kind erzählt uns eine Geschichte. (The child tells us a story.)

Dative Case with Prepositions

Certain prepositions always take the dative case. These include:

aus (from, out of)

bei (at, near)

mit (with)

nach (after, to)

seit (since)

von (from, by)

zu (to)

Example:

Er geht mit dem Hund spazieren. (He goes for a walk with the dog.)Here, dem Hund is in the dative case because of the preposition mit.

Verbs that require the Dative Case

❗

Some German verbs inherently require the dative case for their objects, regardless of whether they are direct or indirect objects.

Some example of such verbs include:

antworten (to answer)

danken (to thank)

folgen (to follow)

gefallen (to please, to like)

gehören (to belong to)

helfen (to help)

Example:

Ich helfe meinem Bruder. (I help my brother.)

Das Buch gefällt mir. (I like the book. - Literally: The book pleases me.)

Other Triggers

The dative case is also used with certain adjectives when describing how something relates to a person. These adjectives require dative objects:

ähnlich (similar to): Das Kind ist seinem Vater ähnlich. (The child is similar to his father.)

bekannt (known to): Diese Geschichte ist mir bekannt. (This story is known to me.)

wichtig (important to): Meine Familie ist mir wichtig. (My family is important to me.)

egal (indifferent to): Das ist mir egal. (I don't care. - Literally: That is indifferent to me.)

klar (clear to): Die Regeln sind den Studenten klar. (The rules are clear to the students.)

Word Order in Dative Sentences

ㅤ	Structure	Example
Standard Statement	Subject (Nominative) + Verb + Indirect Object (Dative) + Direct Object (Accusative) + rest	Der Vater gibt dem Kind ein Geschenk. (The father gives the child a gift.)
Yes/No Questions	Verb + Subject + Indirect Object (Dative) + Direct Object (Accusative) + rest	Zeigt die Lehrerin den Schülern die Bilder? (Does the teacher show the students the pictures?)