Do you know what the German dative is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the German dative, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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November 27, 2021
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What is the German dative?
According to German with Laura, the dative case is a grammatical case that has a standard, basic function: signaling the indirect object of the sentence. As with other cases like the nominative case, the accusative case (noun as the direct object), and genitive case, the dative case uses an indirect object to represent to or for whom action is taken. German uses the dative case frequently for things like possession and the recipient of action. In English, we can use the dative case or a prepositional phrase but in German, indirect objects are always put into the dative case.
The two types of words that come in front of nouns are determiners and adjectives. Determiners include a, the, some, many, all, every, and so on that tell us how many or which one, while adjectives tell us the feature of a noun. German has many words that signal the dative case. We have the dative prepositions from Fluent in 3 Months:
- außer – “except, apart from” → Alle außer ihm gab mir ein Geschenk.
- seit – “since” → ich bin hier seit einem Jahr
- aus – “out of, from” → geh mir aus dem Weg!
- bei – “at, among, with” → Ich wohne bei meinem Freund.
- von – “from, of” → Ich habe es von meinem Bruder gehört. =
- gegenüber (von) – “opposite” → Er wohnt der Schule gegenüber.
- mit – “with” → Sie können mit ihm diskutieren.
- nach – “after” → Nach dem Unterricht treffen wir.
- zu – “to, at” → Wir gehen zum Festival.
There are also many German dative verbs:
- folgen – “to follow”
- nützen – “to be of use”
- zürnen – “to be angry with”
- lauschen – “to overhear”
- danken – “to thank”
- antworten – “to answer”
- glauben – “to believe”
- passieren – “to happen (to)”
- befehlen – “to command, order”
- schaden – “to harm”
- misslingen – “to fail”
- fehlen – “to be missing”
- gelingen – “to succeed”
- geraten – “to turn out well”
- widersprechen – “to contradict”
- erlauben – “to allow”
- winken – “to wave at/to”
- gratulieren – “to congratulate”
- helfen – “to help”
- drohen – “to threaten”
- gehorchen – “to obey”
- einfallen – “to occur to, think of”
- geschehen – “to happen”
- gefallen – “to be liked by, pleasing to” (see also missfallen, “to be disliked by”)
- dienen – “to serve”
- wehtun – “to hurt”
- verzeihen – “to pardon, forgive”
- genügen – “to be enough”
- ähneln – “to resemble”
- begegnen – “to encounter, meet”
- glücken – “to be lucky”
- gleichen – “to be like”
- trauen or vertrauen – “to trust”
- gehören – “to belong to”
- raten – “to advise”
- schmecken – “to taste”
- schmeicheln – “to flatter”
- munden – “to taste”
- passen – “to fit, suit”
- bleiben – “to remain”
Many different languages also contain words that mean dative. You may notice that some of these translations of dative look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and forms in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of dative is provided by Word Sense.
- Irish: tabharthach
- Portuguese: dativo
- Catalan: datiu
- French: datif (masc.)
- Greek: δοτική (fem.)
- Slovene: dajalniški
- Turkish: -e hâli, datif
- Swedish: dativ
- German: Dativ, dativisch
- Italian: dativo
- Latin: dativus (masc.)
- Faroese: hvørjumfals-
- Norwegian: dativ (masc.)
- Georgian: მიცემითი
- Czech: dativní
- Basque: datibo
- Dutch: in de datief (masc.)
- Polish: celownikowy
- Russian: да́тельный
- Scottish Gaelic: tabhartach
- Spanish: dativo
- Icelandic: þágufall
- Japanese: 与格 (yokaku)
- Finnish: datiivinen, datiivi
- Armenian: տրական
- Arabic: مفعول لأجله (masc.)
- Hungarian: részeshatározó
- Danish: dativ
What are examples of German datives?
German datives can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or grammatical technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of German datives from Your Dictionary that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Take a look at these German dative examples in the following sentences from German Project and see how many you can identify the German dative in!
- Das war mir unerwünscht.
- Ich gebe der Frau das buch.
- Meine Freunde helfen mir.
- Ich ziehe mir die Jacke aus.
- Das ist mir verständlich.
- Ich gebe dem traurigen Hund einen Knochen.
- Er gefällt mir.
- Ich gab der Frau den Stift zurück.
- Ich wasche mir die Hände.
- Ich gebe dem Kind das Buch.
- Du fehlst mir.
- Du hast dir ins Bein geschnitten!
- Ich gebe traurigen Hunden Knochen.
- Er wohnt bei der Frau.
- Ich gebe den Chefs das Buch.
- Sie setzt sich den Hut auf.
- Ich komme aus der Schweiz.
- Ich kann Opa von der Arbeit abholen.
- Ich gebe den Kindern das Buch.
- Ich folge dir.
- Ich schickte dem Mann(e) das Buch.
- Wir kennen uns schon seit der Konferenz.
- Das war mir schon bewusst.
- Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch.
- Ich spreche mit der Frau.
- Ich gehe zum Arzt.
- Ich gehe nach dem Konzert.
- Nach dem Konzert, gehen wir.
- Ich helfe ihm.
- Alle sprechen Deutsch außer dem Mann.
- Der Mann gibt den Kindern das Buch
- Ich singe meinem schläfrigen Baby ein sanftes Schlaflied vor.
Overall, the German dative is responsible for signaling the indirect object of the sentence. There are many different types of dative word in German including adjectives, prepositions and verbs. If you are learning German, try learning the German dative case and using it as practice today!
Sources:
- dative: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense
- German Dative Case: Your Ultimate Guide | German with Laura
- Learn German – Meet the “Lazy Dative” case (with audio) | German Project
- Glossary of grammatical terms | OED
- How to Use the Dative Case in German – In-Depth Guide [with Charts] | Fluent in 3 Months
