I can say who I help, who likes what, and what belongs to whom: put the article and the possessive in the dative and use the six verbs that take it.
To whom: the third case
To whom: the third case
The Dativ (the dative: the “to whom” case) tells you WHO gets your help, who likes something, and who owns something.
Three questions side by side: wer? — who (Nominativ), wen? or was? — whom, what (Akkusativ), wem? — to whom (Dativ). English shows “to whom” only with “to” or word order: give him the book.
The article in the Dativ: der becomes dem, das — dem, die — der, and plural die — den. The full table is alongside.
ein, kein, and the possessives take the same endings: einem Mann, einer Frau, meinem Bruder, meiner Schwester, keinem Kind.
In the plural, the noun itself takes an ending too: die Kinder — den Kindern, die Männer — den Männern. If the plural already ends in -n or -s, add nothing: den Frauen, den Handys.
Six verbs take only the Dativ: helfen, danken, gehören, gefallen, antworten, schmecken. In English you thank and help someone directly; in German danken and helfen take the Dativ. Examples are in the second table.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ich helfe meinen Vater” — after helfen, the Dativ: meinem Vater.
• NOT “Lena antwortet die Lehrerin” — correct: der Lehrerin.
• NOT “Der Film gefällt den Kinder” — the plural takes -n: den Kindern.
• NOT “Der Computer gehört meine Oma” — correct: meiner Oma.
• NOT “Der Tee schmeckt mein Bruder” — correct: meinem Bruder.
Three cases: the article and the possessive
In the Dativ plural, the noun itself also takes -n.
| Case | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ (who?) | der Bruder | das Kind | die Frau | die Kinder |
| Akkusativ (whom?) | den Bruder | das Kind | die Frau | die Kinder |
| Dativ (to whom?) | dem Bruder | dem Kind | der Frau | den Kindern |
| Dativ: ein, kein, mein | einem Bruder | keinem Kind | meiner Frau | meinen Kindern |
Six verbs that take the Dativ
In English these verbs take a plain object (help someone, thank someone): learn the six together.
| Verb | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| helfen (hilft) | to help (+ Dativ) | Lena hilft der Mutter. |
| danken | to thank (+ Dativ) | Marie dankt der Oma. |
| gehören | to belong to (+ Dativ) | Das Geld gehört der Firma. |
| gefallen (gefällt) | to please (+ Dativ) | Die Stadt gefällt der Lehrerin. |
| antworten | to answer (+ Dativ) | Lena antwortet dem Arzt. |
| schmecken | to taste good to (+ Dativ) | Das Brot schmeckt dem Vater. |
Lesson notes
To whom: the third case
The Dativ (the dative: the “to whom” case) tells you WHO gets your help, who likes something, and who owns something.
Three questions side by side: wer? — who (Nominativ), wen? or was? — whom, what (Akkusativ), wem? — to whom (Dativ). English shows “to whom” only with “to” or word order: give him the book.
The article in the Dativ: der becomes dem, das — dem, die — der, and plural die — den. The full table is alongside.
ein, kein, and the possessives take the same endings: einem Mann, einer Frau, meinem Bruder, meiner Schwester, keinem Kind.
In the plural, the noun itself takes an ending too: die Kinder — den Kindern, die Männer — den Männern. If the plural already ends in -n or -s, add nothing: den Frauen, den Handys.
Six verbs take only the Dativ: helfen, danken, gehören, gefallen, antworten, schmecken. In English you thank and help someone directly; in German danken and helfen take the Dativ. Examples are in the second table.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ich helfe meinen Vater” — after helfen, the Dativ: meinem Vater.
• NOT “Lena antwortet die Lehrerin” — correct: der Lehrerin.
• NOT “Der Film gefällt den Kinder” — the plural takes -n: den Kindern.
• NOT “Der Computer gehört meine Oma” — correct: meiner Oma.
• NOT “Der Tee schmeckt mein Bruder” — correct: meinem Bruder.