Lesson 4: Dative, n-Declension & 2 more Verbs
In this lesson you will learn a new grammatical case, the dative, as well as a strange thing called n-Declensions, and two more irregular verbs.
The Dative Case
If you know Na'vi, then the following will be very easy for you, but even if not, the dative isn't that hard - you just have to learn when to use it.
Before we look at the when, let's first talk about the how. In the following table you see how the definite and the indefinite article change when in the dative case:
definite article
indefinite article
You, see, a bit strange stuff happens here - the feminine articles suddenly looks masculine! Let's look at some examples:
Noun
definite article
indefinite article
Masculine
der/ein Mann (the/a man)
Ich helfe dem Mann. (I help the man.)
Ich helfe einem Mann. (I help a man.)
Feminine
die/eine Frau (the/a woman)
Ich helfe der Frau. (I help the woman.)
Ich helfe einer Frau. (I help a woman.)
Neuter
das/ein Mädchen (the/a girl)
Ich helfe dem Mädchen. (I help the girl.)
Ich helfe einem Mädchen. (I help a girl.)
You see, in the example sentences I used the verb helfen (to help) with the dative/indirect object in German, while the English sentence uses the normal direct object. This shows one important thing: Languages don't always agree on which case a verb uses! So when learning a new verb, always make sure to look up some example sentences too, so you can see which cases that verb uses. Good news: Many verbs work similarly in English and German. Verbs like helfen, which work differently, do not appear too often and the best thing is to just learn them. But very often, if the receiver of an action is almost always a person, you use the dative instead of the accusative. You help someone, believe someone (something), congratulate someone, obey someone, answer someone, ... Those verbs all use the dative in German!
You also use the dative case to answer the question to/for whom. In English you can do that too, but in fact, English often uses prepositions instead. A few examples:
Ich gebe dem Hund einen Knochen.
I give the dog a bone./I give a bone to the dog.
Sie zeigen der Katze den Fisch.
They show the cat the fish./They show the fish to the cat.
Der Mann macht dem Mädchen einen Tee.
The man makes the girl a tea./The man makes a tea for the girl.
Note: The last sentence could also be said as Der Mann macht einen Tee für das Mädchen!
n-Declension
Till now, you only saw that the articles change with the cases. Bad news: Some nouns also change when used in a case which is not the subject. The so called n-Declension applies to some masculine nouns, especially masculine living beings ending with -e, some other masculine nouns describing living beings and some professions and designations ending with certain things (for example -ant, -ist, -loge and more - a complete list with endings that show different things in German will follow in the future) and some other masculine nouns. This sounds very complicated now, but it is just a matter of learning an practice.
Those nouns get a -n if they end with -e, and an -en if they end with a consonant. This happens in every case except the subject:
Nominativ (subject)
Akkusativ (direct object)
Dativ (indirect object)
Der Junge sieht den Hund.
The boy sees the dog.
Der Hund sieht den Jungen.
The dog sees the boy.
Der Mann gibt dem Jungen einen Apfel.
The man gives the boy an apple.
Der Mensch sieht den Hund.
The human sees the dog.
Der Hund sieht den Menschen.
The dog sees the human.
Der Mann gibt dem Menschen einen Apfel.
The man gives the human an apple.
Der Drache sieht den Hund.
The dragon sees the dog.
Der Hund sieht den Drachen.
The dog sees the dragon.
Der Mann gibt dem Drachen einen Apfel.
The man gives the dragon an apple.
2 more important Verbs
We learned a lot about irregular verbs in the past two lessons, and I'm sure everyone is tired of learning more about that, but there are two more verbs I want to present you: werden (to become) and wissen (to know). Both act a bit strange, but are often used.
werden (to become), Verb stem: werd-
1. Person Singular
ich werde
I become
2. Person Singular
du wirst
you become
3. Person Singular
er/sie/es wird
he/she/it becomes
1. Person Plural
wir werden
we become
2. Person Plural
ihr werdet
you become
3. Person Plural
sie werden
they become
wissen (to know), Verb stem: wiss-
1. Person Singular
ich weiß
I know
2. Person Singular
du weißt
you know
3. Person Singular
er/sie/es weiß
he/she/it know
1. Person Plural
wir wissen
we know
2. Person Plural
ihr wisst
you know
3. Person Plural
sie wissen
they know
And that really is the end for irregular conjugations - at least till we start with tenses :P
Exercises
1. Let's repeat "sein" and "haben"! Fill in the correct forms
a) (to be) Der Hund ist groß.
The dog is big.
b) (to have) Ich habe Hunger.
I am hungry.
c) (to be) Du bist toll!
You are great!
d) (to have) Wir haben Pizza, ihr habt Nudeln.
We have pizza, you (pl.) have pasta.
e) (to be) Sie (pl.) sind stark.
They are strong.
f) (to have) Du hast Durst.
You are thirsty.
g) (to be) Ich bin müde.
I am tired.
h) (to have) Sie (sg.) hat einen Apfel.
She has an apple.
2. Fill in the right articles - da = use the definite article, ia = use the indefinite article
a) (da) Die Mutter gibt (da) dem Mädchen (ia) einen Kuss.
The mother gives the girl a kiss.
b) (da) Das Mädchen küsst (da) die Mutter.
The girl kisses the mother.
c) Wir geben (da) dem Ikran (ia) eine Frucht.
We give the ikran (banshee) a fruit.
d) (da) Der Hund folgt (ia) einem Mann.
The dog follows a man.
e) (da) Die Frau macht (ia) einem Jungen (ia) einen Tee.
The woman makes a tea for a boy.
f) Ihr gebt (da) der Katze Wasser.
You (pl) give the cat water.
g) (da) Das Essen schmeckt (da) der Frau.
The food tastes good for the woman.
h) Sie vertrauen (ia) einer Katze.
They trust a cat.
3. Listening Exercise: Listen to the audios, write down what is said and translate the sentences
Der Hund hilft der Katze.
Der Junge dankt dem Hund und der Katze.
The boy thanks the dog and the cat.
Das Kind antwortet der Mutter.
The child answers the mother.
4. Translate the sentences
a) Der Junge ähnelt dem Vater.
The boy resembles the father.
b) I'm hungry!
Ich habe Hunger!/Ich bin hungrig!
c) Ein Krokodil folgt dem Kind.
A crocodile follws the child.
d) They give the crocodile food.
Sie geben dem Krokodil Essen.
e) Die Mutter backt dem Kind einen Kuchen.
The mother bakes the child a cake.
f) We help the animal.
Wir helfen dem Tier.
g) Er dankt der Frau.
He thanks the woman.
g) The man gives the boy an apple.
Der Mann gibt dem Jungen einen Apfel.