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Dative ‑ but when?
You’ve seen dative case used a lot. Let’s review when we need to use it! If someone is receiving something, you’ll need the dative! Think of it like the English sentence She gives a ring to me!
Sie gibt mir einen Ring.She gives a ring to me.
You also use dative after words like aus, mit and zu.
Ich spiele mit ihrer Katze.I play with her cat.
If you say that something is in, hinter, or zwischen some place, you’ll need to use the dative case with that place.
Er kocht in der Küche.He cooks in the kitchen.
Finally, special verbs like danken, folgen, gehören, or helfen use the dative as well!
Wir helfen unserer Großmutter.We help our grandmother.
| basic form | dative form |
|---|---|
| der Mann mein Mann |
dem Mann meinem Mann |
| die Frau meine Frau |
der Frau meiner Frau |
| das Kind mein Kind |
dem Kind meinem Kind |
| die Kinder meine Kinder |
den Kindern meinen Kindern |
Here or there?
German has a few ways to say there. You can use the word da to talk about something not far from you, almost within reach.
Der Apfel da ist klein.The apple there is small.
You’ll use the word dort to talk about something out of your reach.
Eure Fahrräder sind dort.Your bikes are over there.
The words da and dort can also be combined with drüben. It’s a little redundant, but that’s OK!
Die Katze da drüben ist süß.Die Katze dort drüben ist süß.
The cat over there is cute.
Inside, outside, upside down!
Although these words are similar, there are differences!
| außen outside |
draußen outdoors |
|---|---|
| innen inside |
drinnen indoors |