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![]() (In an emergency, call the police.) Feminine Indefinite Article (I went to the cinema with a friend.)īei einem Notfall rufen Sie die Polizei. Ich bin mit einem Freund ins Kino gegangen. It’s not just definite articles that are changed by the dative-indefinite ones get in on the action too! When it comes to masculine nouns, ein becomes einem. ![]() (I showed the photos to the parents.) German Dative Indefinite Articles You don’t need to add anything if the plural form already ends on an -n, however, like die Eltern (the parents). So, die Schüler (the pupils) goes to den Schüler n in the dative:ĭer Lehrer gibt den Schülern viele Hausaufgaben. (The teacher gives the pupils lots of homework.) (I told the girl a joke.) Plural Definite ArticleĪs well as changing the plural definite article to den, we also need to add an “-n” or “-en” ending to the plural noun. Despite describing a girl, this word is grammatically neuter! (He gives the horse the hay.)ĭon’t get caught out with the word das Mädchen. Just like the masculine one did!Įr gibt dem Pferd das Heu. The definite article for neutral nouns, das, changes to dem. (We’re baking a cake for Julia.) Neuter Definite Article But you still need to respect the grammar rules: Germans will often put the definite article before names in order to create a friendly, familiar feel. Deris used instead of die.Įr hat der Frau den Tisch verkauft. We also need to change the feminine definite article. Ich zeige dem Mann den Ausweg. (I show the man the exit.) Feminine Definite Article Ich gebe dem Hund einen Ball. (I give the dog a ball.) In the dative case, instead of taking their usual der, masculine nouns need to use demas their definite article. Der Tischneeds to change to den Tisch because the movement along with aufrequires the accusative case. Whereas in the bottom sentence, the book is being moved onto the table. Therefore, der Tischchanges to dem Tisch. There is no movement in the sentence, so auftriggers the dative case. In the top sentence, the book is lying still on the table. If there is no movement or change of state in the sentence, you’ll need to use the dative. Here we have a group of prepositions that, just to confuse things, can take either the accusative or dative case. Note: In German, Turkey (the country, not the bird!) translates as die Turkei-it always has a definite article. There is also a group of German prepositions that must be followed by the dative case. Try this handy version of “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” for remembering these prepositions: from/out/over In this instance, even though “me” is the direct object and would usually take the accusative, helfen forces it to be in the dative. Kannst du mir bitte helfen? (Can you please help me?) Here’s an example of how these verbs work: Some German verbs always require the dative case-whether the following noun is the indirect object or not. However, once you remember the following pattern of changes, you’ll find your understanding of German improves by leaps and bounds. It’s important to study these isolated examples, so we can learn the rules and understand how the dative works. As we don’t change articles in English, this can be tricky for learners to get their heads around. If a sentence or clause is in the dative case, you need to make sure you’re using dative articles with nouns. ![]() In the example above, you’ll notice how die Frauhas changed to der Frau. This is because the dative changes the feminine definite article from die to der. One reason learners grapple with the German dative so much more than any other case is because it changes every definite and indefinite article. The “woman” is receiving this direct object, making her the indirect object and putting her in the dative case. This makes it the direct object and so it goes in the accusative case. In the above sentence, the “pen” is the thing being “given”, the action of the verb is being done to it. That’s the person or thing that is receiving the “direct object”. The dative’s main purpose is to point out the “indirect object”. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy. Sentence Structure with Dative Nouns and Pronouns.This article is going to focus on the one most language learners come to fear… the German dative!ĭon’t worry, we’re going to make it as easy as possible for you. German has four cases: nominative, accusative, genitive and dative. If you want to speak proper German, you have to really know your cases. ![]() MaThe German Dative Case: The Complete Quick-and-Easy Guide ![]()
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