German
Grammar
Grammar: Cases - Genitive and Dative
🤓 Study
📖 Quiz
Play audio lesson
Grammar: Cases - Genitive and Dative
The Genitive Case
- The Genitive case in German indicates possession or belonging. It is equivalent to the English possessive 's or "of."
- The Genitive is often used with certain prepositions, verbs, adjectives and phrases that demand this case.
- Nouns and pronouns in the Genitive undergo changes such as addition of 's/es' for masculine and neuter nouns, 'e' for feminine nouns and 'er' for plural nouns.
- Examples include "der Hund des Mannes" (the man's dog), "die Farbe des Himmels" (the colour of the sky).
The Dative Case
- The Dative case in German is used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence.
- The Dative is used with certain verbs (such as helfen, danken), prepositions (like mit, zu, von) and expressions that demand this case.
- Nouns and pronouns in the Dative also have certain changes: 'dem' for masculine and neuter nouns, 'der' for feminine and 'den' with an 'n'/'en' ending for plural nouns.
- Examples include "Ich helfe dem Mann" (I am helping the man), "Sie gibt der Frau das Buch" (She gives the woman the book).
Contrast between Genitive and Dative
- One important distinction is that Genitive indicates possession, while the Dative indicates the indirect object.
- This makes understanding when to use which case crucial for conveying the right information.
- Both cases require proper noun and pronoun endings.
Key phrases for Genitive and Dative
- Knowing some key phrases that require either the Genitive or the Dative can be helpful.
- Some common phrases with Genitive include "während des Tages" (during the day), "wegen des Regens" (because of the rain).
- Some common phrases with Dative include "nach dem Essen" (after the meal), "bei der Arbeit" (at work).
Remember that practice makes perfect; keep revising and using these rules in sentences to get a good grip on when to use the Genitive and when to use the Dative.