This week's 3 Minuten Deutsch episode serves as a brief introduction to the der-words and ein-words used in the dative case, as well as how to use the dative case with indirect objects. If you haven't seen the video, you should watch it below. If you want the slides from the video, they are below the video.
As explained in the video, the dative case is used with indirect object. An indirect object is generally a person (sometimes an animal or, rarely, an inanimate object) that receives the direct object of the sentence. In case you don’t remember, the direct object of a sentence is the thing that is being verbed. It is what receives the action of the sentence. There is a relatively limited list of German verbs that can use indirect objects, as certain verbs simply don’t make sense with an indirect object.
Here is a short list of verbs that can take an indirect object and their meanings followed by an example of how to use them.
beibringen - to teach
Was bringt Herr Antrim den Schülern bei? - What does Herr Antrim teach the students?
Herr Antrim bringt den Schülern Deutsch bei.
bringen - to bring
Ich bringe meinem Hund den Knochen. - I bring my dog the bone.
Warum bringt der Hund dem Mann den Knochen nicht? - Why doesn’t the dog bring the man the bone?
erzählen - to tell
Ihre Tochter erzählt meiner Freundin die besten Geschichten. - Her daughter tells my girlfriend the best stories.
Was für Geschichten erzählt ihre Tochter deiner Freundin? - What kind of stories does her daughter tell your girlfriend?
geben - to give
Sophia gibt dem Hund etwas Hundefutter. - Sophia gives the dog some dog food.
Was gibt Sophia dem Hund? - What is Sophia giving the dog?
kaufen - to buy
Ich kaufe der Obdachlose etwas Gutes zum Essen. - I am buying the homeless woman something good to eat.
Warum kaufst du dem Obdachlose etwas auch nicht? - Why don’t you buy the homeless man something, too?
sagen - to say
Der Lehrer sagt dem Schüler, dass er im Flur nicht rennen darf. - The teacher tells the student that he is not allowed to run in the hall.
Warum sagt der Lehrer dem Schüler, dass er nicht rennen darf?
schenken - to give (as a gift)
Der Reisender schenkt seiner Familie Andenken zu Weihnachten. - The traveller is giving his family souvenirs for Christmas.
Wann schenkt der Reisende seiner Familie Andenken? - When is the traveller giving his family souvenirs?
schicken - to send
Der Politiker schickt den Wählern eine Postkarte. - The politician is sending the voters a postcard.
Was schicken Politiker den Wählern? - What do politicians send the voters?
senden - to send
Die Mutter sendet dem Kind fast nie eine SMS. - The mother rarely sends the child a text message.
Warum sendet die Mutter dem Kind keine SMS? - Why doesn’t the mother send the child a text message?
vorlesen - to read to someone
Ein guter Vater liest seinem Kind jeden Tag ein Buch vor. - A good father reads his child a book every day.
Wie oft liest ein schlechter Vater seinem Kind ein Buch? - How often does a bad father read his child a book?
What’s next?
Over the next few weeks in the 3 Minuten Deutsch series and on the blog, I will be continuing to cover the rest of the ways to use the dative case (dative prepositions, dative verbs, & dative pronouns). When I cover the dative pronouns, I will use this as an opportunity to review the dative case in general.
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