Der Dativ — The Dative Case
The dative marks the indirect object — the recipient of an action. When you give something TO someone, lend something TO someone, or explain something TO someone, the person receiving is in the dative.
Masculine: dem Mann, einem Mann
Feminine: der Frau, einer Frau ← fem changes to DER in dative!
Neuter: dem Kind, einem Kind
Plural: den Männern + noun gets -n (if possible)
✅ Key dative verbs: geben (to give), helfen (to help), zeigen (to show), sagen (to tell), schicken (to send), danken (to thank), gehören (to belong to)
✅ Key dative prepositions: mit, nach, aus, zu, von, bei, seit, gegenüber
meiner Mutter = dative (recipient). eine Blume = accusative (what is given).
💡 Dative test: the dative answers 'to whom?' or 'for whom?'. If you can add 'to' or 'for' before the person in the English sentence, that person is in the dative.
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