Dative case

Ingrammar,thedative case(abbreviateddat,or sometimesdwhen it is acore argument) is agrammatical caseused in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "MariaJacobopotum dedit",Latin for" Maria gaveJacoba drink ". In this example, the dative marks what would be considered theindirect objectof averbin English.

Sometimes the dative has functions unrelated to giving. InScottish GaelicandIrish,the termdative caseis used in traditional grammars to refer to theprepositional case-marking of nouns following simpleprepositionsand the definite article. InGeorgianandHindustani(Hindi-Urdu), the dative case can also mark the subject of a sentence.This is called thedative construction.InHindi,the dative construction is not limited to only certain verbs or tenses and it can be used with any verb in any tense or mood.

The dative was common among earlyIndo-European languagesand has survived to the present in theBalto-Slavicbranch, theGermanicbranch,Albanianand others. It also exists in similar forms in several non-Indo-European languages, such as theUralicfamily of languages. In some languages, the dative case has assimilated the functions of other, now extinct cases. InAncient Greek,the dative has the functions of theProto-Indo-Europeanlocativeandinstrumentalas well as those of the original dative.

Under the influence of English, which uses the preposition "to" for (among other uses) both indirect objects (give to) and directions of movement (go to), the term "dative" has sometimes been used to describe cases that in other languages would more appropriately be calledlative.

Etymology

"Dative" comes fromLatincāsus datīvus( "case for giving" ), a translation of Greek δοτικὴ πτῶσις,dotikē ptôsis( "inflection for giving" ).Dionysius Thraxin hisArt of Grammaralso refers to it asepistaltikḗ"for sending (a letter)",from the verbepistéllō"send to", a word from the same root asepistle.

English

TheOld English languagehad a dative case; however, the English case system gradually fell into disuse during theMiddle Englishperiod, when theaccusativeand dative of pronouns merged into a singleoblique casethat was also used with all prepositions. This conflation of case in Middle and Modern English has led most modern grammarians to discard the "accusative" and "dative" labels as obsolete in reference to English, often using the term "objective" for oblique.

Set expressions

The dative case is rare in modern English usage, but it can be argued that it survives in a few set expressions. One example is the word "methinks", with the meaning "it seems to me". It survives in this fixed form from Old English (having undergone, however, phonetic changes with the rest of the language), in which it was constructed as "[it]" + "me" (the dative case of the personal pronoun) + "thinks" (i.e., "seems", < Old English þyncan, "to seem", a verb closely related to the verb þencan, "to think", but distinct from it in Old English; later it merged with "think" and lost this meaning).

Relic pronouns

The modern objective case pronounwhomis derived from the dative case in Old English, specifically the Old English dative pronoun "hwām" (as opposed to the modern subjective "who", which descends from Old English "hwā" ) – though "whom"alsoabsorbed the functions of the Old Englishaccusativepronoun "hwone". It is also cognate to the word "wem"(the dative form of"wer") in German. The OED defines all classical uses of the word" whom "in situations where the indirect objectis not known– in effect, indicating the anonymity of the indirect object.

Likewise, some of the object forms of personal pronouns are remnants of Old English datives. For example, "him" goes back to the Old English dativehim(accusative washine), and "her" goes back to the dativehire(accusative washīe). These pronouns are not pure datives in modern English; they are also used for functions previously indicated by the accusative.

Modern English

The indirect object of the verb may be placed between the verb and the direct object of the verb: "he gavemea book "or" he wrotemea poem. "

The indirect object may also be expressed using aprepositional phraseusing "to": "he gave a bookto me".

German

In general, the dative (German:Dativ) is used to mark theindirect objectof aGermansentence. For example:

• Ich schicktedem Mann(e)das Buch.(literally: I sent "to the man" the book.) – Masculine
• Ich gabder Frauden Stift zurück.(literally: I gave "to the woman" the pencil back.) – Feminine
• Ich überreichedem Kind(e)ein Geschenk.(literally: I hand "to the child" a present.) – Neuter

In English, the first sentence can be rendered as "I sent the bookto the man"and as" I sentthe manthe book ", where the indirect object is identified in English by standing in front of the direct object. The normal word order in German is to put the dative in front of the accusative (as in the example above). However, since the German dative is marked in form, it can also be putafterthe accusative:Ich schickte das Buchdem Mann(e).The(e)afterMannandKindsignifies a now largely archaic-eending for certain nouns in the dative. It survives today almost exclusively in set phrases such aszu Hause(at home,lit.to house),im Zuge(in the course of), andam Tage(during the day,lit.at the day), as well as in occasional usage in formal prose, poetry, and song lyrics.

Some masculine nouns (and one neuter noun,Herz[heart]), referred to asweak nounsorn-nouns,take an -n or -en in the dative singular and plural. Many are masculine nouns ending in -e in the nominative (such asName[name],Beamte[officer], andJunge[boy]), although not all such nouns follow this rule. Many also, whether or not they fall into the former category, refer to people, animals, professions, or titles; exceptions to this include the aforementionedHerzandName,as well asBuchstabe(letter),Friede(peace),Obelisk(obelisk),Planet(planet), and others.

Certain German prepositions require the dative:aus(from),außer(out of),bei(at, near),entgegen(against),gegenüber(opposite),mit(with),nach(after, to),seit(since),von(from), andzu(at, in, to). Some other prepositions (an[at],auf[on],entlang[along],hinter[behind],in[in, into],neben(beside, next to),über[over, across],unter[under, below],vor[in front of], andzwischen[among, between]) may be used with dative (indicating current location), or accusative (indicating direction toward something).Das Buch liegt aufdemTisch(e)(dative: The book is lying on the table), butIch lege das Buch aufdenTisch(accusative: I put the book onto the table).

In addition the four prepositions[an]statt(in place of),trotz(in spite of),während(during), andwegen(because of) which require thegenitivein modern formal language, are most commonly used with the dative in colloquial German. For example, "because of the weather" is expressed aswegen dem Wetterinstead of the formally correctwegen des Wetters.Other prepositions requiring the genitive in formal language, are combined withvon( "of" ) in colloquial style, e.g.außerhalb vom Garteninstead ofaußerhalb des Gartens( "outside the garden" ).

The concept of an indirect object may be rendered by a prepositional phrase. In this case, the noun's or pronoun's case is determined by the preposition, not by its function in the sentence. Consider this sentence:

• Ich sandte das Buch zum Verleger.'I sent the book to the editor.'

Here, thesubject,Ich,is in thenominative case,the direct object,das Buch,is in theaccusative case,andzum Verlegeris in the dative case, sincezualways requires the dative (zumis a contraction ofzu+dem). However:

• Ich habe das Buch an meinen Freund(accusative)weitergegeben.'I forwarded the book to my friend.' (weitergeben= lit.: to give further).

In this sentence,Freundis the indirect object, but, because it followsan(direction), the accusative is required, not the dative.

All of the articles change in the dative case.

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Definite article	dem	der	dem	den
Indefinite article	einem	einer	einem	Ø (the semantically closest word would beeinigen,dative plural ofeinig)
Negative articles	keinem	keiner	keinem	keinen

Some German verbs require the dative for theirdirect objects.Common examples areantworten(to answer),danken(to thank),gefallen(to please),folgen(to follow),glauben(to believe),helfen(to help), andraten(to advise). In each case, the direct object of the verb is rendered in the dative. For example:

• Meine Freunde helfenmir.(My friends help me.)

These verbs cannot be used in normal passive constructions, because German allows these only for verbs with accusative objects. It is therefore ungrammatical to say: *Ich werde geholfen."I am helped." Instead a special construction called "impersonal passive" must be used:Mir wird geholfen,literally: "To me is helped." A colloquial (non-standard) way to form the passive voice for dative verbs is the following:Ich kriege geholfen,or:Ich bekomme geholfen,literally: "Igethelped ". The use of the verb" to get "here reminds us that the dative case has something to do with giving and receiving. In German, help is not something youperform onsomebody, but rather something youofferthem.

The dative case is also used with reflexive (sich) verbs when specifying what part of the self the verb is being done to:

• Ich waschemich.– accusative (I wash myself.)
• Ich waschemir die Hände.– dative (I wash my hands, literally "I wash for myself the hands" )

Cf. the respectiveaccordinFrench:"Les enfants se sont lavés"(" The children have washed themselves ") vs."Les enfants se sont lavé[uninflected]les mains"("... their hands ").

German can use two datives to make sentences like:Sei mir meinem Sohn(e) gnädig!"For my sake, have mercy on my son!" Literally: "Be for me to my son merciful." The first dativemir( "for me" ) expresses the speaker's commiseration (much like thedativus ethicusin Latin, see below). The second dativemeinem Sohn(e)( "to my son" ) names the actual object of the plea. Mercy is to be giventothe sonfororon behalf ofhis mother/father.

Adjective endings alsochangein the dative case. There are three inflection possibilities depending on what precedes the adjective. They most commonly useweak inflectionwhen preceded by a definite article (the),mixed inflectionafter an indefinite article (a/an), andstrong inflectionwhen a quantity is indicated (many green apples).

Adj. in dative case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Weak inflection	-en	-en	-en	-en
Mixed inflection	-en	-en	-en	-en
Strong inflection	-em	-er	-em	-en

Latin

Further information:Latin syntax § Examples of case use

There are several uses for the dative case (Dativus):

• Dativus finalis(dative of purpose), e.g.non scholae sed vitae– "[we learn] not for school, but for life",auxilio vocare– "to call for help",venio auxilio– "I'm coming for help",accipio dono– "I receive [this] as a gift" orpuellae ornamento est– "[this] is for the girl's decoration", or "... for decoration for the girl" (aspuellaecould be either dative or genitive)
• Dativus commŏdi (incommodi),which means action for (or against) somebody, e.g.,Graecis agros colere– "to till fields for Greeks"; Combination ofDativus commodiandfinalis(double dative):tibi laetitiae"to you for joy"
• Dativus possessivus(possessive dative) which means possession, e.g.angelis alae sunt– literally "to (or for) the angels are wings", this is typically found with acopulaand translated as "angels have wings".
• Dativus ethicus(ethic dative) indicates that the person in the dative is or should be especially concerned about the action, e.g.Quid mihi Celsus agit?"What is Celsus doing for me?" (expressing the speaker being especially interested in what Celsus is doing for him or her);orCui prodest?"Whose interest does this serve?" (literally "To whom does this do good?" )
• Dativus auctoris,meaning; 'in the eyes of', e.g.,vir bonus mihi videtur'he seems to me to be a good man'.
• The dative expresses agency with thegerundivewhen the gerundive is used to convey obligation or necessity,e.g.,haec nobis agenda sunt,'these things must be done by us.'

Greek

Ancient

In addition to its main function as thedativus,the dative case has other functions inClassical Greek:(The chart below uses the Latin names for the types of dative; the Greek name for the dative is δοτική πτῶσις, like its Latin equivalent, derived from the verb "to give"; in Ancient Greek, δίδωμι.)

• Dativus finalis: Thedativus finalis,or the 'dative of purpose', is when the dative is used to denotethe purposeof a certain action. For example:
  • "τῷ βασιλεῖμάχομαι"
    • "I fightfor the king".
  • "θνῄσκωτῇ τιμῇ"
    • "I diefor honour".
• Dativus commŏdi (incommodi): Thedativus commodi sive incommodi,or the 'dative of benefit (or harm)' is the dative that expresses the advantage or disadvantage of somethingfor someone.For example:
  • For the benefit of:"πᾶς ἀνὴραὑτῷπονεῖ"(Sophocles,Ajax1366).
    • "Every man toilsfor himself".
  • For the harm or disadvantage of:"ἥδε ἡ ἡμέρατοῖς Ἕλλησιμεγάλων κακῶν ἄρξει."(Thucydides2.12.4).
    • "This day will be the beginning of great sorrowsfor the Greeks(i.e., for their disadvantage) ".
• Dativus possessivus: Thedativus possessivus,or the 'dative of possession' is the dative used to denotethe possessorof a certain object or objects. For example:
  • "ἄλλοιςμὲν γὰρ χρήματά ἐστι πολλὰ καὶ ἵπποι, ἡμῖν δὲ ξύμμαχοι ἀγαθοί."(Thucycdides 1.86.3).
    • "Forothers havea lot of money and ships and horses, but we have good allies (i.e., To others there is a lot of money...) ".
• Dativus ethicus: Thedativus ethicus,or the 'ethic or polite dative,' is when the dative is used to signify that the person or thing spoken of is regarded with interest by someone. This dative is mostly, if not exclusively, used in pronouns. As such, it is also called the "dative of pronouns." For example:
  • "τούτῳ πάνυμοιπροσέχετε τὸν νοῦν."(Demosthenes18.178).
    • "Pay close attention to this,I beg you(i.e., please pay..) ".
  • "ὦ μῆτερ, ὡς καλόςμοιὁ πάππος."(Xenophon,Cyropaedia18.178).
    • "Oh, mother, how handsome grandpa is (I've just realized!) ".
• Dativus auctoris: Thedativus auctoris,or the 'dative of agent,' is the dative used to denotethe doerof an action. Note, however, that in Classical Greek, the agent is usually in thegenitiveafterὑπό(by, at the hands of). The agent is in the dative most often with theperfectandpluperfectpassive,and with the verbaladjectivein-τέος.For example:
  • "πολλαὶ θεραπεῖαιτοῖς ἰατροῖςεὕρηνται."(Isocrates8.39)
    • "Many cures have been discoveredby doctors."
• Dativus instrumenti: Thedativus instrumenti,or the 'dative of instrument,' is when the dative is used to denote an instrument or means of a certain action (or, more accurately, as theinstrumental case). For example:
  • "με κτείνειδόλῳ."(Homer,Odyssey9.407)
    • "He kills mewith a bait(i.e., by means of a bait). "
• Dativus modi: Thedativus modi,or the 'dative of manner,' is the dative used to describethe manner or wayby which something happened. For example:
  • "νόσῳὕστερον ἀποθανόντα."(Thucydides 8.84)
    • "having diedof(from)a disease."
• Dativus mensurae: Thedativus mensurae,or the 'dative of measurement,' is the dative used to denotethe measurement of difference.For example:
  • "τῇ κεφαλῇμείζονα."(Plato,Phaedo101a)
    • "tallerby a head."
  • "μακρῷἄριστος."(Plato,Laws729d)
    • "by farthe best. "

The articles in the Greek dative are

Definite article

	Masculine	Neuter	Feminine
Singular	ΤΩΙ (τῷ)		ΤΗΙ (τῇ)
Plural	ΤΟΙΣ (τοῖς)		ΤΑΙΣ (ταῖς)

Modern

The dative case, strictly speaking, no longer exists in Modern Greek, except in fossilized expressions like δόξα τω Θεώ (from the ecclesiastical τῷ Θεῷ δόξα, "Glory to God" ) or εν τάξει (ἐν τάξει, lit. "in order", i.e. "all right" or "OK" ). Otherwise, most of the functions of the dative are expressed by thegenitiveor byprepositional phrases.

Slavic languages

InRussian,the dative case is used for indicating the indirect object of an action (that to which something is given, thrown, read, etc.). In the instance where a person is the goal of motion, dative is used instead ofaccusativeto indicate motion toward. This is usually achieved with the prepositionκ+ destination in dative case;К врачу,meaning "to the doctor."

Dative is also the necessary case taken by certainprepositionswhen expressing certain ideas. For instance, when the prepositionпоis used to mean "along", its object is always in dative case, as inПо бокам,meaning "along the sides."

Other Slavic languages apply the dative case (and the other cases) more or less the same way as does Russian; some languages may use the dative in other ways. The following examples are fromPolish:

• after certain verbs (dziękowaćkomuś"to thank someone", pomóckomuś"to help someone", wierzyćkomuś"to believe someone" )
• in certain expressions (Czy podobacisię piosenka? "Do you like the song?", Jestmizimno "I'm cold", Jestnamsmutno "We're feeling sad", Będziewamtrudniej... "It will be more difficult for you guys" ), Śniłojejsię, że... "She dreamt that"
• dativus commodito indicate action for somebody (Zbuduję temuczłowiekowidom "I will build a house for this person" )
• when something is taken away or something occurs to someone (Zdechłimpies "Their dog died"; Zabralimukomputer "They took away his computer"; Zepsułnamsię samochód "Our car broke down"; Cośmisię przypomniało "I just remembered something" )

Some other kinds of dative use as found in theSerbo-Croatian languageare:Dativus finalis(Titanikuu pomoć "to Titanic's rescue" ),Dativus commodi/incommodi(Operisvojoj majcisuđe "Wash the dishes for your mother" ),Dativus possessivus(Ovcamaje dlaka gusta "Sheep's hair is thick" ),Dativus ethicus(Šta/štomiradi Boni? "What is Boni doing? (I am especially interested in what it is)" ) and Dativus auctoris (Izgledamiokej "It seems okay to me" ).

Unusual in other Indo-European branches but common amongSlavic languages,endings of nouns and adjectives are different based on grammatical function. Other factors are gender and number. In some cases, the ending may not be obvious, even when those three factors (function, gender, number) are considered. For example, in Polish, 'syn'( "son" ) and 'ojciec'( "father" ) are both masculine singular nouns, yet appear assyn → synowiandojciec → ojcuin the dative.

Baltic languages

Both Lithuanian and Latvian have a distinct dative case in the system of nominal declensions.

Lithuanian nouns preserve Indo-European inflections in the dative case fairly well: (o-stems) vaikas -> sg. vaikui, pl. vaikams; (ā-stems) ranka -> sg. rankai, pl. rankoms; (i-stems) viltis -> sg. vilčiai, pl. viltims; (u-stems) sūnus -> sg. sūnui, pl. sūnums; (consonant stems) vanduo -> sg. vandeniui, pl. vandenims.

Adjectives in the dative case receive pronominal endings (this might be the result of a more recent development): tas geras vaikas -> sg. tamgeramvaikui, pl. tiemsgeriemsvaikams.

The dative case in Latvian underwent further simplifications – the original masculine endings ofbothnouns and adjectives have been replaced with pronominal inflections: tas vīrs -> sg. tam vīram, pl. tiem vīriem. Also, the final "s" in all Dative forms has been dropped. The only exception is personal pronouns in the plural: mums(to us), jums(to you). In colloquial Lithuanian the final "s" in the dative is often omitted, as well: time geriem vaikam.

In both Latvian and Lithuanian, the main function of the dative case is to render the indirect object in a sentence: (lt) aš duodu vyrui knygą; (lv) es dodu [duodu] vīram grāmatu –I am giving a book to the man.

The dative case can also be used with gerundives to indicate an action preceding or simultaneous with the main action in a sentence: (lt) jam įėjus, visi atsistojo –when he walked in, everybody stood up,lit.to him having walked in, all stood up;(lt) jai miegant, visi dirbo –while she slept, everybody was working,lit.to her sleeping, all were working.

In modern standard Lithuanian, Dative case is not required by prepositions, although in many dialects it is done frequently: (dial.) iki (+D) šiai dienai, (stand.) iki (+G) šios dienos –up until this day.

In Latvian, the dative case is taken by several prepositions in the singular andallprepositions in the plural (due to peculiar historical changes): sg. bez (+G) tevis(without thee)~ pl. bez (+D) jums(without you);sg. pa (+A) ceļu(along the road)~ pl. pa (+D) ceļiem(along the roads).

Armenian

In modern Eastern Armenian, the dative is attained by adding any article to the genitive:

dog= շուն

GEN > շան(of the dog; dog's)with no articles

DAT > շանըor շանն(to the dog)with definite articles (-ն if preceding a vowel)

DAT >միշան(to a dog)with indefinite article

DAT > շանս(to my dog)with 1st person possessive article

DAT > շանդ(to your dog)with 2nd person possessive article

There is a general tendency to view -ին as the standard dative suffix, but only because that is its most productive (and therefore common) form. The suffix -ին as a dative marker is nothing but the standard, most common, genitive suffix -ի accompanied by the definite article -ն. But the dative case encompasses indefinite objects as well, which will not be marked by -ին:

Definite DAT > Ես գիրքը տվեցիտղային:(I gave the bookto the boy)

Indefinite DAT> Ես գիրքը տվեցիմի տղայի:(I gave the bookto a boy)

The main function of the dative marking in Armenian is to indicate the receiving end of an action, more commonly the indirect object which in English is preceded by the prepositionto.In the use of "giving" verbs likegive, donate, offer, deliver, sell, bring...the dative marks the recipient. With communicative verbs liketell, say, advise, explain, ask, answer...the dative marks the listener. Other verbs whose indirect objects are marked by the dative case in Armenian areshow, reach, look, approach...

Eastern Armenian also uses the dative case to mark the time of an event, in the same way English uses the prepositionat,as inMeet me at nine o' clock.

Indo-Aryan languages

Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu)

Hindustani(Hindi-Urdu) has true dative case for pronouns, but for nouns the dative case has to be constructed using the dative case-marker (postposition) को کو (ko) to the nouns in their oblique case. Pronouns in Hindustani also have an oblique case, so dative pronouns can also be alternatively constructed using the dative case-marker को کو (ko) with the pronouns in their oblique case, hence forming two sets of synonymous dative pronouns. The following table shows the pronouns in their nominative and their dative forms. Hindustani lacks pronouns in the third person and the demonstrative pronouns double as the third person pronouns.[1]

Case	Personal Pronouns					Non-Personal Pronouns
	1st Person		2nd Person			Demonstrative				Relative		Interrogative
			Intimate	Neutral	Formal	Proximal		Distal
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Singular & Plural		Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	मैं میں ma͠i	हम ہم ham	तू تو tū	तुम تم tum	आप آپ āp	यह یہ yah	ये یے ye	वह وہ vah	वे وے ve	जो جو jo		कौन کون kaun
Dative	मुझे مجھے mujhe	हमें ہمیں hamẽ	तुझे تجھے tujhe	तुम्हें تمھیں tumhẽ	—	इसे اسے ise	इन्हें انہیں inhẽ	उसे اسے use	उन्हें انہیں unhẽ	जिसे جسے jise	जिन्हें جنہیں jinhẽ	किसे کیسے kise	किन्हें کنھیں kinhẽ

The table below shows the oblique cases of Hindustani for the nounsboyandgirlwhich take in the dative case-marker after them to assign the combination of the oblique case and the case-marker the dative case. The oblique case of Hindustani by itself has no meaning and adding the case-marker को کو (ko) assigns the oblique case the function of the dative case.[2]

Case	boy		girl
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	लड़का لڑکا laṛkā	लड़के لڑکے laṛke	लड़की لڑکی laṛkī	लड़कियाँ لڑکیاں laṛkiyā̃
Dative	लड़के को لڑکے کو laṛke-ko	लड़कों को لڑکوں کو laṛkõ-ko	लड़की को لڑکی کو laṛkī-ko	लड़कियों को لڑکیوں کو laṛkiyõ-ko

Dative case in Hindustani can also mark the subject of a sentence. This is called thedative constructionorquirky subjects.In the examples below the dative pronoun passes the subjecthood test of subject-oriented anaphora binding. The dative subject मुझे مجھے (mujhe) binds theanaphoraअपने اپنے (apne).

मुझे

مجھے

mujhe_i

I.DAT

अपने

اپنے

apne_i

REFL.MASC.PL

सभी

سبھی

sabhī

all.NOM

रिश्तेदार

رشتےدار

rishtedār

relatives.MASC.PL

पसंद

پسند

pasand

like

हैं

ہیں

hɛ̄

be.PRS.MASC.PL

मुझे अपने सभी रिश्तेदार पसंद हैं

مجھے اپنے سبھی رشتےدار پسند ہیں

mujhe_iapne_isabhī rishtedār pasand hɛ̄

I.DAT REFL.MASC.PL all.NOM relatives.MASC.PL like be.PRS.MASC.PL

'I like all my relatives'

मुझे

مجھے

mujhe_i

I.DAT

अपने

اپنے

apne_i

REFL.MASC.PL

काम

کام

kām

work.NOM

करने

کرنے

karne

do.INF.PTCP.MASC.PL

हैं

ہیں

hɛ̄

be.PRS.MASC.PL

मुझे अपने काम करने हैं

مجھے اپنے کام کرنے ہیں

mujhe_iapne_ikām karne hɛ̄

I.DAT REFL.MASC.PL work.NOM do.INF.PTCP.MASC.PL be.PRS.MASC.PL

'I have/want to do my work.'

Sanskrit

The dative case is known as the "fourth case" (chaturthi-vibhakti) in the usual procedure in the declension of nouns. Its use is mainly for the indirect object.

Non-Indo-European languages

Hungarian

As with many other languages, the dative case is used in Hungarian to show the indirect object of a verb. For example,Dánielnekadtam ezt a könyvet(I gave this bookto Dániel). It has two suffixes,-nakand-nek;the correct one is selected byvowel harmony.The personal dative pronouns follow the-nekversion:nekem,neked,etc. This case is also used to express "for" in certain circumstances, such as "I bought a gift for Mother". In possessive constructions the nak/nek endings are also used but this is not the dative form (rather, theattributive or possessive case)

Finnish

Finnish does not have a separate dative case. However, theallativecase can fulfill essentially the same role as dative, beyond its primary meaning of directional movement (that is, going somewhere or approaching someone). For example:He lahjoittivat kaikki rahansaköyhille(They donated all their moneyto the poor.) It is similar in Estonian.

Tsez

In the Northeast Caucasian languages, such asTsez,the dative also takes the functions of thelative casein marking the direction of an action. By some linguists, they are still regarded as two separate cases in those languages, although the suffixes are exactly the same for both cases. Other linguists list them separately only for the purpose of separating syntactic cases from locative cases. An example with the ditransitive verb "show" (literally: "make see" ) is given below:

Кидбā

kidb-ā

girl:OBL-ERG

ужихъор

uži-qo-r

boy-POSS-DAT/LAT

кIетIу

kʼetʼu

cat:[III]:ABS

биквархо.

b-ikʷa-r-xo

III-see-CAUS-PRES

Кидбā ужихъор кIетIу биквархо.

kidb-ā uži-qo-r kʼetʼu b-ikʷa-r-xo

girl:OBL-ERG boy-POSS-DAT/LAT cat:[III]:ABS III-see-CAUS-PRES

"The girl shows the cat to the boy."

The dative/lative is also used to indicate possession, as in the example below, because there is no such verb as "to have".

Кидбехъор

kidbe-qo-r

girl:OBL-POSS-DAT/LAT

кIетIу

kʼetʼu

cat:ABS

зовси.

zow-si

be:PST-PST

Кидбехъор кIетIу зовси.

kidbe-qo-r kʼetʼu zow-si

girl:OBL-POSS-DAT/LAT cat:ABS be:PST-PST

"The girl had a cat."

As in the examples above, the dative/lative case usually occurs in combination with another suffix as poss-lative case; this should not be regarded as a separate case, however, as many of the locative cases in Tsez are constructed analytically; hence, they are, in fact, a combination of two case suffixes. SeeTsez language#Locative case suffixesfor further details.

Verbs of perception or emotion (like "see", "know", "love", "want" ) also require the logical subject to stand in the dative/lative case. In this example the "pure" dative/lative without its POSS-suffix is used.

ГIалир

ʻAli-r

Ali-DAT/LAT

ПатIи

Patʼi

Fatima:[II]:ABS

йетих.

y-eti-x

II-love-PRES

ГIалир ПатIи йетих.

ʻAli-r Patʼi y-eti-x

Ali-DAT/LAT Fatima:[II]:ABS II-love-PRES

"Ali loves Fatima."

Turkish

Thedative case(yönelme durumu) in theTurkish languageis formed by adding the ''-e "or" -a''suffixesto the end of the noun, in accordance with the effected noun'svowel harmony.The word that should be in the dative case can be found as an answer to the questions 'neye?' (to what?), 'kime?' (to whom?) and 'nereye?' (to where?) will lead to find a dative case in a sentence.There are many different uses for the dative case.

The dative also is for objects, usually indirect objects, but sometimes objects that in English would be considered direct:

Güneşin

sun's

batışına

at-its-sinking

bak.

look

Güneşin batışınabak.

sun's at-its-sinking look

"Look at the sunset."

The dative case tellswhither,that is, the placeto which.Thus it has roughly the meaning of the English prepositions "to" and "into", and also "in" when it can be replaced with "into":

Birayı

the-beer

buzdolabına

into-icebox

koy.

put

Birayı buzdolabınakoy.

the-beer into-icebox put

"Put the beer in(to) the fridge."

See also

• Dative construction
• Declension in English
• Double dative

External links

• German dative caseA lesson covering the dative case in the German language
• Hungarian dative casefrom www. HungarianReference.com
• Russian Dative:[3],[4],[5]