Moving
Dative... but when?
Remember, if someone is receiving something, you’ll need the dative case! Think of the English sentence She gives a ring to me — to me would get the dative case!
Sie gibt mir einen Ring.
She gives a ring to me.
She gives a ring to me.
You also use dative after words like aus, mit and zu.
Ich spiele mit ihrer Katze.
I play with her cat.
I play with her cat.
If you say that something is in, hinter, or zwischen, you’ll need to use the dative.
Er kocht in der Küche.
He cooks in the kitchen.
He cooks in the kitchen.
Finally, special verbs like danken, folgen, gehören, or helfen use the dative as well!
Wir helfen unserer Großmutter.
We help our grandmother.
We help our grandmother.
Here or there?
You can use the word da to talk about something not far from you, almost within reach. You’ll use the word dort to talk about something out of your reach.
Der Apfel da ist klein.
The apple there is small.
Eure Fahrräder sind dort.
Your bikes are over there.
The apple there is small.
Eure Fahrräder sind dort.
Your bikes are over there.
The words da and dort can also be combined with drüben. It’s a little redundant, but that’s OK!
Die Katze da drüben ist süß.
Die Katze dort drüben ist süß.
The cat over there is cute.
Die Katze dort drüben ist süß.
The cat over there is cute.
Inside, outside, upside down!
Although these words are similar, there are differences!
| außen outside | draußen outdoors |
| innen inside | drinnen indoors |