Grammar: Cases - Genitive and Dative

Grammar: Cases - Genitive and Dative

1. Understanding the Concept

  • German language has four cases - Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, and Dative. This section will cover Genitive and Dative cases.
  • The Dative case is used for the indirect object of a sentence, which can be described as the receiver of an action.
  • Use the Genitive case to express possession or belonging - you can think of it as equivalent to ‘of’ or ‘’s in English.

2. Identifying Nouns in Dative Case

  • The dative case is used for the indirect object of the sentence.
  • For example, in the sentence “Ich gebe dem Mann ein Buch”, “dem Mann” is the indirect object, thus it’s in the dative case.
  • When indicating direction or location (where to? where?), the dative case is often used.

3. Identifying Nouns in Genitive Case

  • The genitive case generally shows possession or a close relationship.
  • For example, in the sentence “Das ist das Auto meines Vaters”, “meines Vaters” shows possession, thus it’s in the genitive case.
  • While genitive case was traditionally more popular, in modern German usage it’s becoming less common in spoken language.

4. Noun Changes with Cases

  • Nouns take different forms in the dative and genitive cases.
  • Masculine and neuter nouns add -es or -s in the genitive case.
  • Feminine and plural nouns don’t get an extra ending in the genitive.
  • In the dative case, all plural nouns add an -n or -en.

5. Pronoun Changes with Cases

  • Like nouns, pronouns also change form between the dative and genitive cases.
  • For example, “mein” and “dein” become “meinem” and “deinem” in dative case, and “meines” and “deines” in genitive case.

6. Prepositions and Cases

  • Certain prepositions in German always take the dative or genitive case.
  • For example, “aus” (from/out of), “bei” (at/near), “mit” (with), and “zu” (to; too) always take the dative case.
  • The prepositions “trotz” (despite), “während” (during), “wegen” (because of), and “außerhalb” (outside of) take the genitive case.

7. Case Errors to Avoid

  • Be careful not to mix up the dative and genitive cases, as errors in case usage can cause confusion.
  • The genitive case is often replaced by the dative in colloquial speech, but in written German and for examinations, correct genitive case usage is expected.
  • Constantly practice your translation skills between German and English to better understand the use of genitive and dative cases.