to (people, buildings), at
aus (aus) – from, out of
bei (bai) – at, near
seit (zait) – since (time)
gegenüber (gay-gen-ü-ber) – opposite
Examples with Dative Prepositions:
Ich gehe mit dem Freund ins Kino. (ihh gay-e mit dem froint ins kee-no) – I go to the cinema with the friend. (dem Freund – dative because of «mit»)
Sie fährt nach Deutschland. (zee fairt nahh doitch-lant) – She is traveling to Germany. (nach Deutschland – dative because of «nach»)
Er kommt von der Arbeit. (air komt fon dare ar-bait) – He comes from work. (von der Arbeit – dative because of «von»)
Wir gehen zu dem Arzt. (veer gay-en tsoo dem artst) – We go to the doctor. (zu dem Arzt – dative because of «zu»)
Word Bank
Dativ (dah-teef) – Dative
indirektes Objekt (in-dee-rek-tes ob-yekt) – indirect object
dem (dehm) – the (masculine/neuter, dative)
der (dare) – the (feminine, dative)
den (dehn) – the (plural, dative)
einem (ai-nem) – a (masculine/neuter, dative)
einer (ai-ner) – a (feminine, dative)
mir (meer) – me (dative)
dir (deer) – you (dative, informal)
ihm (eem) – him/it (dative)
ihr (eer) – her (dative)
ihnen (ee-nen) – them (dative)
mit (mit) – with
nach (nahh) – to/after
von (fon) – from/of
zu (tsoo) – to/at
Exercises
Identify the dative object in the following sentences:
Ich zeige dem Kind das Bild. (I show the child the picture.)
Sie gibt der Mutter eine Blume. (She gives the mother a flower.)
Wir helfen den Studenten. (We help the students.)
Fill in the correct article in the dative case:
Ich gehe mit ______ Hund spazieren. (der Hund)
Sie fährt zu ______ Freundin. (die Freundin)
Er wohnt bei ______ Eltern. (die Eltern)
Fill in the blanks with the correct dative pronoun:
Ich danke ______. (du)
Sie hilft ______. (er)
Wir geben ______ das Buch. (ihr)
Translate the following sentences into German, paying attention to the dative case and prepositions:
I go to the cinema with my friend.
She is traveling to Austria.
He comes from work.
We are helping the children.
I give the book to her.
Rewrite the sentences in exercise 1, replacing the dative objects with the correct dative pronouns.
That’s Chapter 7 completed! You now understand the dative case and its usage with indirect objects and certain prepositions.
Chapter 8: Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership or possession. They indicate who or what something belongs to. In this chapter, we’ll learn how to use possessive pronouns in German, paying attention to how they change based on the gender and case of the noun they modify.
Basic Possessive Pronouns
Here are the basic possessive pronouns in German, along with their English equivalents:
mein (main) – my
dein (dain) – your (informal, singular)
sein (zain) – his
ihr (eer) – her
sein (zain) – its
unser (oon-zer) – our
euer (oi-er) – your (informal, plural)
ihr (eer) – their
Ihr (eer) – your (formal)
Agreement with Gender and Case
Just like articles, possessive pronouns must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. This means they change their endings depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural, and whether it’s in the nominative, accusative, or dative case.
Possessive Pronoun Endings
The endings of possessive pronouns are similar to the endings of indefinite articles. Here’s a general guide:
Masculine Nominative: mein Mann (my man) – no ending added
Feminine Nominative: meine Frau (my woman) – add “-e»
Neuter Nominative: mein Kind (my child) – no ending added
Plural Nominative: meine Kinder (my children) – add “-e»
Accusative Case Changes
Masculine Accusative: meinen Mann (my man) – add “-en»
Feminine Accusative: meine Frau (my woman) – add “-e» (same as nominative)
Neuter Accusative: mein Kind (my child) – no ending added (same as nominative)
Plural Accusative: meine Kinder (my children) – add “-e» (same as nominative)
Dative Case Changes
Masculine Dative: meinem Mann (to my man) – add “-em»
Feminine Dative: meiner Frau (to my woman) – add “-er»
Neuter Dative: meinem Kind (to my child) – add “-em»
Plural Dative: meinen Kindern (to my children) – add “-en» (the noun usually takes an -n ending, if it doesn’t already have one)
Examples in Sentences
Nominative:
Mein Bruder ist nett. (main broo-der ist net) – My brother is nice. (Masculine)
Meine Schwester ist klug. (mai-ne shves-ter ist kloog) – My sister is smart. (Feminine)
Mein Haus ist groß. (main haus ist grohs) – My house is big. (Neuter)
Meine Eltern sind freundlich. (mai-ne el-tern zint froint-lihh) – My parents are friendly. (Plural)
Accusative:
Ich sehe meinen Bruder. (ihh zay-e mai-nen broo-der) – I see my brother. (Masculine)
Ich sehe meine Schwester. (ihh zay-e mai-ne shves-ter) – I see my sister. (Feminine)
Ich sehe mein Haus. (ihh zay-e main haus) – I see my house. (Neuter)
Ich sehe meine Eltern. (ihh zay-e mai-ne el-tern) – I see my parents. (Plural)
Dative:
Ich helfe meinem Bruder. (ihh hel-fe mai-nem broo-der) – I help my brother. (Masculine)
Ich helfe meiner Schwester. (ihh hel-fe mai-ner shves-ter) – I help my sister. (Feminine)
Ich helfe meinem Kind. (ihh hel-fe mai-nem kint) – I help my child. (Neuter)
Ich helfe meinen Eltern. (ihh hel-fe mai-nen el-tern) – I help my parents. (Plural)
Using «euer» (your – informal, plural)
The