dative
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dative
The third of four grammatical cases in German. It answers the question 'Wem?' (to whom?) and is often used for the indirect object in a sentence.
Das Verb „helfen“ steht immer mit dem Dativ.
The verb 'helfen' (to help) always takes the dative.
The dative often marks the indirect object in a sentence. This is typically the person or thing that receives something or for whom an action is intended. It answers the question 'Wem?' (to whom?).
Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch.
I give the man the book.
A fixed group of verbs always requires an object in the dative. The most important ones include: helfen, danken, gefallen, gehören, passen, schmecken, and zuhören.
Kannst du mir bitte helfen?
Can you please help me?
Certain prepositions always require the dative. The most common are: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu.
Nach der Arbeit gehe ich direkt nach Hause.
After work, I go straight home.
Prepositions that can describe a location (e.g., in, an, auf, über) use the dative when they indicate a static position. They then answer the question 'Wo?' (where?).
Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.
The book is lying on the table.
instrumental
'der Dativ' and 'instrumental' can both have to do with grammar and cases. The dative is a case in German and often answers the question 'Wem?' (to whom?). 'instrumental', by contrast, describes a case that expresses the means or tool of an action in some languages. Learners may confuse the words because both are case-related terms. For German, however, 'Dativ' is the important case, for example with an indirect object. 'instrumental' is used more when talking about other languages or about grammar in general.
Nach „helfen“ steht im Deutschen der Dativ.
After 'helfen' (to help), German uses the dative.
In manchen Sprachen zeigt ein instrumentaler Fall, womit jemand etwas tut.
In some languages, an instrumental case shows what someone does something with.