Dativ answers the following questions:
- wem? (to whom),
- was? (what),
- and wo? (where).
It refers to the further complement, which is usually the person who bears the consequences of an action. The further complement helps us understand to whom something happens, who benefits from a situation or who is involved in a process, e.g. Ich gebe meinem Freund einen Ball:
| Ich gebe | meinem Freund | einen Ball. |
| I’m giving | to my friend | a ball. |
| – | to whom/to what? – Dativ (indirect object) | who/what? – Akkusativ (direct object) |
Some common German verbs that require the use of the Dativ are: passieren (to become/happen), schmecken (to taste), geben (to give), gefallen (to please), gehören (to belong), glauben (to believe), danken (to thank), fehlen (to miss), and helfen (to help).
Take a look at the following examples:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Wem hilfst du: ihm oder ihr? | Who are you helping: him or her? |
| Ist Ihnen etwas passiert? | Did something happen to you? |
| Schmeckt’s dir? Das schmeckt mir gut. | Do you taste it? It tastes good to me. |
| Wir geben euch, was ihr wollt! | We will give you what you want! |
| Wem gefällt die Frau? | Who likes the woman? |
| Das gehört mir! | It belongs to me! |
| Gut, wir glauben euch dieses Mal. | Well, this time we believe you. |
| Sie dankten der Lehrerin für das letzte Jahr. | They thanked the teacher for the last year. |
| Wem fehlt Geld? Mir fehlt Geld. | Who is short of money? I am short of money. |
| Können Sie mir helfen? | Could you please help me? |
Note the personal pronouns mir, dir and ihm (meaning “me,” “you” and “him”). Look at the summary to see how the pronouns change in Dativ:
- I thank myself. – Ich danke mir.
- I thank you. – Ich danke dir.
- I thank him. – Ich danke ihm.
- I thank her. – Ich danke ihr.
- I thank us. – Ich danke uns.
- I thank you all. – Ich danke euch.
- I thank them. – Ich danke ihnen.
The same goes for the articles. In the verb, change the articles der and das to dem, ein to einem and kein to keinem. Change the article die to der, eine to einer, and keine to keiner. Change the plural article die to den.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Er half einem Freund bei der Arbeit. | He helped a colleague at work. |
| Ich folge den Regeln. | I followed the rules. |
| Er gab dem Kind das Buch für die Schule. | He gave the child the book for school. |
| Die Pflanze gefiel der Frau nicht. | The plant did not like the woman. |
| Sie glaubt keinem Mann. | She does not believe any man. |
| Der Hund gehört einer Freundin. | The dog belongs to a friend. |
| Wir danken den Männern für ihre harte Arbeit. | We thank the men for their hard work. |
| Glaubst du einem Kind? | Do you believe a child? |
| Ich glaube keinem Kind! | I don’t believe any child! |
| Wir wünschen den Müttern einen schönen Muttertag. | We wish mothers a happy Mother’s Day. |
| Ich gebe den Lehrern Blumen. | I give the teachers flowers. |
Note the characteristic feature of plural conjugation: in addition to changing the article, we also add the letter “-n” to the ending of the noun, e.g. Ich gebe den Lehrern Blumen (I give the teachers flowers.). But note, if a plural noun ends in “-n” or “-s”, then it no longer receives an additional ending, e.g. Der Professor gratuliert den Studenten zu ihrem akademischen Erfolg (The professor congratulates the students on their academic success).
If you want to learn more about cases in German, such as Dative or Genitiv, read our article “Cases in German“.
