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ROADMAP · A2 · Fluent in everyday situations

Verben mit Dativ

A2Verbs with dative
Das Kleid gefällt mir sofort.

I like the dress immediately.

EXPLANATION

Some verbs need a person in the Dativ instead of the Akkusativ. The dative person answers wem? and is very common with help, thanks, feelings, and reactions.

Some German verbs do not take an accusative object. They use a person in the Dativ (dative): helfen, danken, antworten, zuhören, folgen, glauben, gratulieren, wehtun, fehlen. With these verbs, the person usually answers the question wem? and not wen?.

A second group is especially important: verbs like gefallen, gehören, passen, schmecken. Here the thing is often the subject, and the person stands in the Dativ: Das Kleid gefällt mir. This is why English or Vietnamese learners often say the wrong case, because the meaning feels like “I like it”, but German builds the sentence differently.

Also remember fixed expressions with a dative person, for example Mir ist kalt and Wie geht es dir?. These are not normal accusative-object sentences. The most common mistake is using den/dich after these verbs, but the correct form is in the Dativ.

STRUCTURE

Verb + dative person (wem?)

Use this pattern with verbs that need only a dative person object.

  • Ich helfe dem Nachbarn jeden Samstag.I help the neighbor every Saturday.
  • Sie antwortet der Lehrerin sofort.She replies to the teacher right away.
  • Wir danken unserem Chef für das Geschenk.We thank our boss for the gift.
Subject thing + verb + dative person

Here the thing is the subject; the person is dative.

  • Der Kaffee schmeckt mir gut.The coffee tastes good to me.
  • Das Handy gehört meinem Bruder.The phone belongs to my brother.
  • Die Schuhe passen uns nicht.The shoes do not fit us.
Dative person + fixed expression

These expressions are learned as set patterns.

  • Mir ist heute kalt.I am cold today.
  • Wie geht es dir nach der Prüfung?How are you after the exam?
  • Der Arm tut ihm weh.His arm hurts.

OVERVIEW

Common verbs and patterns with dative

Verb/patternPerson in dativeExampleMeaning
helfendem MannIch helfe dem Mann.help
dankender FrauWir danken der Frau.thank
antwortendirSie antwortet dir.reply to
zuhörenihmEr hört ihm zu.listen to
gefallenmirDas Bild gefällt mir.be pleasing to / like
gehörenihnenDas Haus gehört ihnen.belong to
passenunsDie Schuhe passen uns.fit
wehtunmirDer Kopf tut mir weh.hurt

COMMON MISTAKES

  • Ich helfe dich gern.

    Ich helfe dir gern.

    helfen takes a dative person, so dir is correct. dich is accusative and wrong here.

  • Das Buch gehört ihn.

    Das Buch gehört ihm.

    With gehören, the person is in the dative. The thing belongs to is the subject of the sentence.

  • Der Film gefällt wir.

    Der Film gefällt uns.

    gefallen uses a dative person. uns is the correct dative form; wir is a subject form and does not fit here.

  • Ich höre dich zu.

    Ich höre dir zu.

    zuhören requires dative. The accusative dich is a typical learner error.

USAGE NOTES

  • With many of these verbs, the person is not the direct object. That is why the form looks different from A1 Akkusativ verbs.
  • gefallen is the opposite of English ‘like’: in German, the liked thing is the subject, and the person is dative.
  • Some verbs can also take a thing with a preposition, for example danken für or glauben an. This lesson only covers the simple dative patterns.
  • Do not confuse these verbs with Akkusativ verbs. Ask yourself: do I need wen? or wem?

RELATED

Dativ: Artikel und PersonalpronomenDative articles and pronounsA2Akkusativ: Artikel und PronomenAkkusative object formsA1PersonalpronomenSubject pronounsA1Präpositionen mit DativPrepositions with dativeA1
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