Dative

The dative case The dative case shows the indirect object in a sentence. In English, you would often find a preposition like “by”, “with” or “for” in front of a noun which is used as an indirect object in a sentence, but not necessarily. Indirect objects are the persons or thing with whom, to whom or for whom the action is being done. • I gave the dog a biscuit. If we didn’t have a certain world knowledge that tells us that we hardly ever give dogs to biscuits and rather give biscuits to dogs, we couldn’t tell from the form of the nouns which function both expressions have in the English sentence. Certainly, we also know that in English you put the indirect object always in front of direct objects in a sentence. But the form doesn’t reveal any difference in the function. In German, it is obvious. See for yourself: • Ich gab dem Hund einen Keks. = I gave a biscuit to the dog. If it really was the biscuit to whom I would give a dog, I would get the following sentence: • Ich gab den Hund einem Keks. = I gave the dog to a biscuit. The form of the article (“einen”) clearly indicates that „a biscuit“ is the direct object in the first example. Let’s have a look at some more sentences with indirect objects. • Ich gehe mit meiner Mutter in die Schule. • I walk with my mother to school. • Ich bringe meinem Mann Blumen mit. • I bring my husband some flowers. • Machmal kommt meine Nachbarin zu meinem Haus. • Sometimes, my neighbour comes over to my house. • Ich habe noch nie einer Freundin gesagt, dass ihre Frisur hässlich ist. • I never told a girlfriend that her hair looks ugly. • Ich schreibe meinem Boss einen Brief. • I write a letter to my boss. After having had a look at the other forms of the dative you will find that the letter “m” as the ending for articles in the dative case is quite indicative of the dative case. Table: Articles in the dative case Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural Definite article dem der dem den Indefinite article einem einer einem - The prepositions which require the dative case are: aus, bei, mit, zu, nach, seit, von, außer, gegenüber (from, at, with, to, towards, since, of, except, opposite). Er ging pünktlich aus dem Haus. He went out of the house on time. Kommst du mit deiner Freundin? Are you coming with your girl friend? Alle außer meiner Mutter haben sich gefreut. Everyone except my mother were excited.

Hi Nathalie, I am confused by a couple of the examples of the dative case that are provided in section 6.3 Learning Guide. The examples are: - Dem Mann gefällt das Hotel nicht - Der Frau gefällt das Hotel I'm just wondering why the dative case is used to refer to the man/woman in these examples rather than the nominitive? Regards, John

[quo]*Quote from * JohnK Hi Nathalie, I am confused by a couple of the examples of the dative case that are provided in section 6.3 Learning Guide. The examples are: - Dem Mann gefällt das Hotel nicht - Der Frau gefällt das Hotel I'm just wondering why the dative case is used to refer to the man/woman in these examples rather than the nominitive? Regards, John[/quo] if you don't mind me answering i think i have your answer of course it's just until Nathalie can answer I'm sure she'll have a better explanation. The dative refers to the indirect object. From 6.3 "An indirect object is the person or thing to (or for) whom (or which) an action is being performed" in this case the dative is used instead of the nominative because Dem Mann / Der Frau ,although a noun, are not what the sentence is directly about which makes dem Mann and der Frau indirect objects. that is why the dative is used the subject/direct object of each sentence is "das Hotel", making dem Mann and der Frau the indirect object, they are performing the action "gefällt" in regards to the hotel: - Dem Mann gefällt das Hotel nicht _ the man doesn't like the hotel_ - Der Frau gefällt das Hotel _the woman likes the hotel_ The sentences are about liking/not liking the hotel, rather than the hotel liking/not liking someone or something. when looking for the dative simply ask yourself whom or what is performing the action. - Dem Mann gefällt das Hotel nicht _ the man doesn't like the hotel_ [color=#000080:20y748sa]"whom" or "what" doesn't like the hotel --- Dem Mann[/color:20y748sa] if you were talking to someone and you heard something about "liking the hotel" (assuming you knew what hotel was being discussed) you would ask, Who/what likes the hotel? it wouldn't work the other way around, you wouldn't ask, Whom/what does the hotel like? to wrap it up Dem Mann / Der Frau ,although a noun, are not what the sentence is directly about which makes dem Mann and der Frau indirect objects therefore the dative is used. hope that helps and wasn't too confusing Viel glück!

I think that is a very good explanation :D

Thanks very much for such a comprehensive explanation - it is a great help. Regards, John