• for the subject of a sentence: who or what is doing this?
Der Student lernt Deutsch.
• for predicate nouns: when the main verb is sein or werden, use the nominative for both subject and predicate nouns.
Das ist ein Tisch.
Akkusativ
• for the direct object of a sentence: who or what is being <verbed>?
Ich habe einen Tisch. What do you have? A table.
Dativ
• for the indirect object of a sentence. An indirect object is the beneficiary of whatever happens in a sentence. It’s usually a person, although it doesn’t have to be. If you ask yourself: “TO whom or FOR whom is this being done?”, the answer will be the indirect object, and in German it will need the dative case. Remember that not every sentence will have an indirect object -- only some verbs allow an indirect object: to give (to), to bring (to), to tell (to), to buy (for), to send (to) are some examples of verbs that will almost always have an indirect object. In English, we don't distinguish the direct and indirect object in the forms of words; instead, we often use "to" or "for" to mark these.
Ich gebe der Frau ein Buch. I’m giving her a book = a book to her. Er schenkt mir ein Buch. He's giving me a book. Ich habe das dem Mann schon gesagt. I already told the man that.
• after the dativ prepositions: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu (memory aid: Blue Danube Waltz). A noun immediately following these prepositions is ALWAYS in the dative case. There are many possible translations of these prepositions, depending on exactly what the context of the sentence is. Please refer to your textbook, pp. 239-240, for more detailed explanation of the meanings of each preposition.
Sie haben ein Geschenk von ihrem Vater bekommen. From their father. Außer meiner Mutter spricht meine ganze Familie Deutsch. Except for my mother. Ich fahre am Wochenende zu meiner Tante in Minnesota. To my aunt's.
• after dativ verbs: helfen, danken, gefallen, gehören, schmecken, passen. See your book for more details on each verb. There's no direct translation that explains why these verbs take a dative object, it's just an idiosyncrasy of German -- it's best just to memorize these verbs as requiring the dative, even though the following noun doesn't 'feel' like an indirect object.
Ich helfe dir mit deinen Hausaufgaben. I'm helping you = I'm giving help to you. Wir danken Ihnen, Herr Stein. We're thanking you = we're giving thanks to you.
• with some adjectives which describe a condition. You'll just need to know these as fixed phrases.
Mir ist warm. To me (it) is warm / I'm warm.
Wie geht es dir? How's it going / How are you doing?
• the preposition “in” often uses the dative case. Later this week you will be learning more about this preposition and how to use it correctly. For now, the most you need to know is that when ‘in’ is used with a stationary verb (e.g. He’s in the house), it takes the dative case.
Der Tisch steht in der Küche. Where is it? In the kitchen.
Mein Schreibtisch ist im Arbeitszimmer. Note that im = in dem Die Kinder sind in ihren Zimmern. The children are in their rooms, plural. If you need reference to these, here's a table of the different endings and pronouns in the three cases:
Nom Akk Dat (Poss)
1 sg ich mich mir (mein_) 2 sg du dich dir (dein_) 3 sg er ihn ihm (sein_) 3 sg sie sie ihr (ihr_) 3 sg es es ihm (sein_) 1 pl wir uns uns (unser_) 2 pl ihr euch euch (euer_) 3 pl sie sie ihnen (ihr_) form Sie Sie Ihnen (Ihr_)
masc der den dem
fem die die der neut das das dem plur die die den (+ _n)
masc ein einen einem
fem eine eine einer neut ein ein einem plur keine keine keinen (+ _n)
fem diese diese dieser neut dieses dieses diesem plur diese diese diesen (+ _n)
It may help you to remember these changes with the mnemonic device “rese nese mr mn” - - in other words, der-die-das-die, den-die-das-die, dem-der-dem-den. The question words wer - wen - wem
To ask “who” in German, you need to decided whether the “who” is the subject, the direct object, or the indirect object. The forms of ‘wer’ are just like the masculine article: wer - wen - wem.
Wer ist das? Who is that?
Wer kommt morgen zur Party? Who’s coming to the party tomorrow? Wen hast du eingeladen? Whom did you invite? Wem hast du das Buch gegeben? To whom did you give the book?
Exercises Fill in the blank ( using dem, der or den/n) 1. Ich schreibe …….Mutter den Brief. 2. Der Mann gibt…….Kind das Buch. 3. Die Mutter bringt…….Kinder……die Schokolade. 4. Das Kind zeigt…….Vater das Bild. 5. Ich gebe …….Freund das Telegramm. 6. Er dankt…….Lehrer. 7. Wir helfen……Freunde. 8. Sie antworten……Vater. 9. Wir denken…….Frauen. 10. Er gibt……..Mann die Zigaretten.
