Dative Pronouns For Intermediate learners
What is a Dative Pronoun?
A dative pronoun replaces the indirect object of a sentence. In order to understand dative pronouns better, you should first know about the Dative Case.
What is the Dative case?
The Dative Case identifies the indirect object of a sentence, which is the person or thing that receives something. You can usually find the indirect object by asking "To whom?" or "For whom?". For instance, in the sentence: "I give the book to the man.", the man is the indirect object.
The German Dative Pronouns
The table below shows the Dative Pronouns in German:
Dative (indirect object) | |
|---|---|
me / to me / for me | mir |
you / to you / for you | dir |
him / her / it | to/for him / her / it | ihm/ihr/ihm |
us / to us / for us | uns |
you / to you / for you | euch |
them / to them / for them | ihnen |
you / to you / for you | Ihnen |
Er gibt mir das Buch.
He gives me the book. / He gives the book to me.
Ich kaufe dir ein Geschenk.
I am buying you a gift. /I am buying a gift for you.
Comparison (Nominative, Accusative, and Dative)
The table below compares different pronouns (Nominative, Accusative, and Dative) in German:
Nominative (subject) | Accusative (direct object) | Dative (indirect object) |
|---|---|---|
ich | mich | mir |
du | dich | dir |
er/sie/es | ihn/sie/es | ihm/ihr/ihm |
wir | uns | uns |
ihr | euch | euch |
sie | sie | ihnen |
Sie (formal) | Sie (formal) | Ihnen (formal) |
Accusative case vs. Dative case
Let's take a look at their role in a sentence. Both of these cases are known to be the object of a sentence. The accusative is the direct object, which means it's the direct receiver of the action of the verb.
Ich schreibe den Brief.
I write the letter.
The letter: direct object (accusative)
Dative, however, is known to be the indirect object. It is usually the person or a thing that gets something. You can often find the indirect object by asking "to whom" or "for whom"?
Sie gibt dem Kind das Buch.
She gives the book to the child.
Give to whom? ➡ to "the child": indirect object (dative)
Der Mann gibt dem Kind das Buch.
The man gives the child the book.
das Buch: accusative - dem Kind: Dative
Rules of Placement
Dative nouns come before accusative nouns.
Ich gebe dem Kind den Ball.
I give the child the ball.
dem Kind (Dat) - den Ball (Akk)
Dative pronouns come before accusative pronouns.
Ich gebe ihm es.
I give it to him.
ihm (Dat) - es (Akk)
If there is a mix of nouns and pronouns, the pronoun always comes first.
Ich gebe dir das Buch.
I give you the book.
dir (Dat) - das Buch (Akk)
Ich gebe es meinem Vater.
I give it to my father.
es (Akk) - meinem Vater (Dat)
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