In this lecture you will learn everything about verbs with dative complements. To understand the lecture it´s necessary that you understand the difference between complement and adjunct. If that isn´t clear so far please go through lecture Verbs with Complements first.
Verbs with Dative Complements
There are very few dative complements.
When a verb always uses a dative complement, the direct object is in the dative case (not accusative).
Only people, nouns, and pronouns can be dative complements.
Examples: Verbs with Dative
- „Wem antwortet sie?“ – „Sie antwortet ihrem Vater.“
„ihrem Vater“ antworten uses a dative complement ⇒ Even when it is the direct object, the dative case must be used.
Warning: Prepositions can replace the dative complement and create a prepositional complement:
- „Sie antwortet auf die Frage ihres Vaters.“
You should memorize the verbs that use dative complements. There is no rule explaining all cases.
- „Die Frau hilft dem Mann.“
- „Ich glaube meinem Vater.“
- „Die Hose passt mir nicht.“
Here is a verb list with dative complements: List of Verbs with Dative Complements
Word Order
Regular Main Clause:
| Position 1 | Position 2 | Position 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Ich | glaube | meinem Vater. |
| Meinem Vater | glaube | ich. |
| Position 1 | Position 2 | Position 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Glaube | ich | meinem Vater? |
Summary
- A few verbs use a dative complement.
- There are no rules for which verbs use it. You just have to know it.
- These verbs require dative case for the direct object. But prepositions always change the rules.
- If you have a preposition in front it´s no longer an object and the rule of the preposition applies. ⇒ The preposition always determines the case.
Further Information
In the following lectures you will find all the information that you need to understand the different German verb complements. Verb complements tell you the case! That means you have to know them!
- Verbs with Nominative Complements
- Verbs with Accusative Complements
- Verbs with Dative and Accusative Complements
- Verbs with Genitive Complements
- Verbs with Prepositional Complements
If you aren’t confident about cases and their declension go through the lectures about the German cases: Nominative, Accusative, Dative and Genitive.
Before going through the lecture about verbs with prepositional complements, you need to know about prepositions.
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