Verbs with dative and accusative (geben, schenken …)
Verben mit Dativ und Akkusativ (geben, schenken …)
Ditransitive verbs take a (recipient) and an (thing) .
Structure
Subjekt + Verb + Dativ (wem) + Akkusativ (was)
subject + verb + dative (wem) + accusative (was)
Details
- Part of Speech
- Verb
- Word Type
- Ditransitive verb
- Register
- Standard
Explanation
Some verbs are ditransitive: they take two objects - a dative for the recipient (Wem?, "to whom?") and an accusative for the thing (Was?, "what?"). Common ones are geben, schenken, zeigen, bringen, erklären, kaufen.
Default with two nouns: dative before accusative.
Structure: + + (person) + (thing).
Examples:
- Ich schenke meinem Vater eine Uhr. - I give my father a watch. (meinem Vater = dative, eine Uhr = accusative)
- Er gibt dem Kind den Ball. - He gives the child the ball.
- Sie zeigt den Touristen die Stadt. - She shows the tourists the city.
Common mistakes: Keep the cases straight: the recipient is , the thing is . With two nouns, don't reverse the order - say Ich gebe dem Kind den Ball, not Ich gebe den Ball dem Kind as the neutral order (the -first order is standard). Note: the order changes when pronouns are involved (see order).
About Verbs with dative and accusative (geben, schenken …)
Ditransitive verbs take a (recipient) and an (thing) .
Verbs like geben, schenken, zeigen, bringen, erklären take both objects. Default order with nouns: (person) before (thing).
wie geben oder schenken haben ein - (wem) und ein (was).
Caution
With two noun objects the dative usually comes before the accusative: 'Ich gebe dem Kind den Ball.'