I can say what I give, show, lend, or give as a present, and to whom — and put the objects in the right order, even when both are pronouns: Ich gebe es ihr.
To whom and what: the order of the objects
To whom and what: the order of the objects
Some verbs take two objects: to whom and what. With them you say who gives (or gives as a present), shows, lends, explains, brings, or sends what to whom. The list of verbs is in the first table.
The person is in the Dativ (the dative: to whom?), the thing in the Akkusativ (the accusative: what?). You already know the Dativ forms; what's new here is the order. English marks the person with word order or “to” (give her the book, give the book to her); German marks it with the case, never with zu.
The order:
• two nouns — first to whom, then what: Ich schenke meiner Schwester ein Buch;
• a pronoun always comes before a noun, whatever its case;
• two pronouns reverse the order: first the thing (Akkusativ), then the person (Dativ): Ich schenke es ihr, as in English “give it to her”.
All the cases, row by row, are in the second table.
An easy way to remember: the short word goes first, and of two pronouns the thing comes first.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ich schenke meine Schwester ein Buch” — the person is in the Dativ.
• NOT “Ich schenke ein Buch ihr” — the pronoun comes before the noun.
• NOT “Ich schenke ihr es” — of two pronouns, the thing comes first.
Verbs with two objects
The person is in the Dativ (to whom?), the thing in the Akkusativ (what?).
| Verb | Example |
|---|---|
| geben | Der Chef gibt mir das Formular. |
| schenken | Sophie schenkt ihrer Kollegin eine Postkarte. |
| zeigen | Der Lehrer zeigt den Kindern ein Bild. |
| leihen | Lisa leiht ihrer Freundin die Tasche. |
| erklären | Die Lehrerin erklärt den Kindern die Geschichte. |
| bringen | Tobias bringt seiner Mutter einen Kaffee. |
| mitbringen | Sophie bringt uns Kuchen mit. |
| schicken | Lisa schickt ihrer Oma eine Postkarte. |
| kaufen | Der Vater kauft dem Kind ein Spielzeug. |
The order of two objects
One idea in four versions: only the objects change.
| What stands side by side | Order | Example |
|---|---|---|
| two nouns | to whom → what | Ich leihe meinem Bruder den Schlüssel. |
| pronoun and noun | the pronoun first | Ich leihe ihm den Schlüssel. |
| noun and pronoun | the pronoun first | Ich leihe ihn meinem Bruder. |
| two pronouns | what → to whom | Ich leihe ihn ihm. |
Lesson notes
To whom and what: the order of the objects
Some verbs take two objects: to whom and what. With them you say who gives (or gives as a present), shows, lends, explains, brings, or sends what to whom. The list of verbs is in the first table.
The person is in the Dativ (the dative: to whom?), the thing in the Akkusativ (the accusative: what?). You already know the Dativ forms; what's new here is the order. English marks the person with word order or “to” (give her the book, give the book to her); German marks it with the case, never with zu.
The order:
• two nouns — first to whom, then what: Ich schenke meiner Schwester ein Buch;
• a pronoun always comes before a noun, whatever its case;
• two pronouns reverse the order: first the thing (Akkusativ), then the person (Dativ): Ich schenke es ihr, as in English “give it to her”.
All the cases, row by row, are in the second table.
An easy way to remember: the short word goes first, and of two pronouns the thing comes first.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ich schenke meine Schwester ein Buch” — the person is in the Dativ.
• NOT “Ich schenke ein Buch ihr” — the pronoun comes before the noun.
• NOT “Ich schenke ihr es” — of two pronouns, the thing comes first.