Dative Case

Functions

Nouns and pronouns use the dative case:

when they are the indirect object of a verb
when they are the object of a dative preposition
when they are the object of an accusative/dative preposition
when they are the object of a verb which requires the dative
when they are used in conjunction with certain special expressions.

1) Er gibt ihr zehn Mark.
2) Was hören Sie von ihm?
3) Das liegt auf dem Stuhl.
4) Ich danke Ihnen sehr.
5) Sei mir nicht böse!

He gives her ten marks.
What do you hear from him?
That is lying on the chair.
I thank you very much.
Don't be angry with me!

Forms

The definite and indefinite articles in the dative case are:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Definite Indefinite	dem Mann einem Mann	der Frau einer Frau	dem Kind einem Kind	den Leuten keinen Leuten

Other noun modifiers follow the same pattern:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
der-words ein-words	diesem Mann meinem Mann	welcher Frau seiner Frau	jedem Kind ihrem Kind	manchen Leuten deinen Leuten

Some masculine nouns, primarily those which denote a male person, add an -(e)n ending to the noun itself in the dative case. These are called masculine N-nouns. They are listed in the dictionary as with an extra -en ending before the plural ending, e.g., der Mensch, -en, -en.