BooksSearch for German grammar books at amazon: 
 Rosetta Stone German Language Learning Software More info - Buy  English - German Talking Dictionary / Electronic Translator Model # EGm600T  Because German relies on
case to identify the function of a noun in a sentence, word order is far more variable than in English, which uses word order to establish the functions of nouns in sentences. |
Noun cases in GermanThe dative caseThe cases | Definite articles | der-words | Indefinite articles | Possessive adjectivesSummary of the cases | Nominative case | Accusative case | Dative case | Genitive case | GRAMMAR INDEX The dative case has four functions. 1) Indirect objectThe indirect object of a sentence is the being (usually a person, but sometimes a pet or an inanimate object) for whose benefit the subject is acting upon the direct object.. It answers the question: To or for whom does the subject <insert meaning of verb here><insert direct object here>?EXAMPLES:Note that the dative case, when it denotes an indirect object in the sentence, can be and often is rendered into English using the preposition to or for. Because the dative case in German includes the meanings of these prepositions, those prepositions are not needed in German to designate the indirect object. Note also that a sentence cannot have an indirect object unless it first has a direct object. The indirect object is by definition to or for whom the subject does something to a direct object. 2) Object of a dative verb or dative constructionA number of verbs, adjectives, and idiomatic expressions require a dative object in German. The following verbs require a dative object and will never have an accusative object.
EXAMPLES:Like dative indirect objects, the objects of dative verbs normally refer to persons. In the few instances where the verb objects are impersonal, they take the accusative case. In addition to the dative verbs, a number of adjectives and other idiomatic phrases are commonly used with dative objects. Here are some of them: Notice in the examples below that the dative objects that accompany these adjectives are often rendered in English with an accompanying "to" or "for". There is no need to add an additional preposition to the German sentence, since these meanings are included when the noun or pronoun is declined in the dative case. EXAMPLES: 3) Object of a dative prepositionThe object of an dative preposition must be in the dative case. These are the prepositions in German whose noun objects are always in the dative case:For more information on prepositions, see the German prepositions page. 4) Object of a two-way prepositionTwo-way prepositions are named as such because their objects are sometimes in the dative case and sometimes in the accusative case. Here are the two-way prepositions:When two-way prepositions are used with the dative case, they (1) designate a location, or (2) are in idiomatic expressions requiring the use of the dative. EXAMPLES of 2-WAY PREPOSITIONS + DATIVE to indicate LOCATIONS:In addition to the meanings listed , the two-way prepositions + dative have a range of idiomatic meanings, as the last example above shows: Angst haben vor (+ dat.) = to be afraid of. For a list of such common idiomatic expressions in German and their English equivalents, see the page on verb + preposition combinations. For more information on prepositions, see the German prepositions page. Nouns and pronouns in the DATIVE CASEFinally, here are some examples of nouns and pronouns in the dative case. Words and endings in red indicate a change in form from the accusative.
Summary of the cases | Nominative case | Accusative case | Dative case | Genitive case GRAMMAR INDEX  All content on this site is copyrighted. © 2004- VISTAWIDE.COM Contact - About us |
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