German Dative Case: der Dativ

1. Introduction

The dative case often marks the person or thing that receives, hears, is shown, is brought, or is helped by an action. The key German question is wem?, meaning to whom? or for whom?

wem? — to whom?

Ich gebe dem Freund den Kopfhörer. — I give the friend the headphones.

Dem Freund is in the dative because it names the person who receives the object.

2. Basic rule

In the dative, articles, demonstrative pronouns, possessive determiners, and sometimes the noun form change.

Dative forms in the singular

• Ich bringe meinem Freund die Zitronen. — I bring the lemons to my friend.
• Er bringt seiner Tante die Apfelsinen. — He brings the oranges to his aunt.
• Sie bringt ihrem Kind die Äpfel. — She brings the apples to her child.

3. Dative in the plural

In the plural, dative nouns often take an extra -n or -en. The definite article also changes from die to den.

• Wir bringen unseren Kindern exotische Früchte. — We bring our children exotic fruit.
• Ich gebe diesen Freunden die Kopfhörer. — I give these friends the headphones.

Important: if the plural already ends in -s, German normally does not add another -n.

4. A special group of masculine nouns

Some masculine nouns belong to the n-Deklination. They take -n or -en in the dative. The same ending also appears in other cases, such as the accusative and genitive.

• Ich helfe einem Studenten. — I help a student.
• Sie schreibt einem Kollegen. — She writes to a colleague.

5. Adjectives in the dative

If an article, demonstrative, or possessive determiner stands before the noun, the adjective usually takes the ending -en in the dative.

• Wir bringen den kleinen Kindern exotische Früchte. — We bring exotic fruit to the little children.
• Ich helfe meinem neuen Freund. — I help my new friend.
• Sie schreibt ihrer alten Tante. — She writes to her old aunt.

6. Personal pronouns in the dative

Personal pronouns have special dative forms. These forms need to be learned separately.

• Sie sagt ihm nicht, was sie will. — She does not tell him what she wants.
• Ich danke dir für deine Hilfe. — I thank you for your help.
• Er hilft uns. — He helps us.
• Wir schreiben Ihnen morgen. — We will write to you tomorrow.

7. Verbs with the dative

Some German verbs require a dative complement. Verbs such as geben, bringen, zeigen, and sagen often also have an accusative object: to whom? what?

Important verbs with the dative

• Ich helfe dem Kind. — I help the child.
• Wir danken der Lehrerin. — We thank the teacher.
• Er schreibt ihr eine SMS. — He writes her a text message.

8. Dative and accusative in one sentence

One sentence can contain two objects. The dative answers to whom? The accusative answers what?

Ich gebe dem Freund den Kopfhörer. — I give the friend the headphones.

• dem Freund — to whom? Dative.
• den Kopfhörer — what? Accusative.

• Er schreibt ihr die SMS zweimal pro Tag. — He writes her the text message twice a day.
• Sie sagt mir die Wahrheit nicht immer. — She does not always tell me the truth.
• Wir zeigen den Kindern die Bilder. — We show the children the pictures.

9. What to remember

• The dative answers the question wem?, meaning to whom?
• Masculine and neuter forms often use dem Freund, dem Kind, einem Freund, and einem Kind.
• Feminine forms use der Tante and einer Tante.
• In the plural, -n or -en often appears: den Freunden, den Kindern.
• Dative personal pronouns need to be learned separately: mir, dir, ihm, ihr, uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen.
• Many verbs use a dative complement: helfen, danken, geben, schreiben, sagen, zeigen, bringen.