The Dative Case
Say who receives, who benefits, and who you help.
The dative case helps you talk about the person who receives something or benefits from an action. You will learn forms like dem Studenten, der Lehrerin, einem Freund, and mir. This chapter connects giving, helping, answering, thanking, and useful location chunks from the previous chapter.
The Dative Case
What this chapter covers
- I can recognise the dative person in a simple sentence.
- I can use dem, der, dem, and den with dative nouns.
- I can use einem and einer in simple dative phrases.
- I can use common dative pronouns like mir, dir, and Ihnen.
- I can write simple sentences about helping, giving, showing, and answering.
What you will practise in the app
The full chapter includes 16 interactive exercises covering these formats:
- Multiple choice questions
- Vocabulary matching
- Fill-in-the-blank sentences
- Word order tasks
- Listening comprehension
- Translation practice
- True or false statements
- Guided writing task
Vocabulary: Giving & Helping
A small sample from this chapter's vocabulary set.
This is only a small sample. The full vocabulary set (with audio, example sentences, and grammar details) is available in the free app.
Grammar topics in this chapter
This chapter explains 5 grammar topics with plain-English explanations and structured exercises.
What the Dative Does
The dative often shows the person who receives something or benefits from an action.
Dative Articles
der, die, das, and die change in the dative.
Dative Pronouns and Dative Verbs
Some very common German verbs naturally need the dative.
Prepositions That Always Take the Dative
aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu: after these seven words the noun is dative, whatever the verb.
Dative for How You Feel
Wie geht es dir? Mir ist kalt. Es tut mir leid. Das gefällt mir. In these sentences the person is dative and the subject is es or das.
Why this matters in Germany
This chapter helps you build German you can use in everyday situations in Germany, from understanding simple sentences to handling basic conversations, messages, appointments, study, work, and daily life. Practical language learned in context is easier to remember and use when it matters.
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