German in 7 lessons. Lesson 6. Dativ.

Olena Shypilova – German for beginners in 7 Lessons English edition by Yuriy Bereza http://german.eustudy.ru/en 32 Lesson 6. Dativ. Before you start, download audio lesson with extended explanation: http://german.eustudy.ru/en/audiofiles/eng_germ/Unterricht6_voll.mp3 Today we’re going to continue one of the most difficult issues in German doing it the simplest and most comfortable way. And namely, how to say: «I give my documents to the man in the office», «I buy a toy in the store», «I give flowers to my wife in the cafe». Here we deal with indirect objects. It accords with Dative (Dativ) in German and answers questions «To whom/which?» and «Where? (position)» I give my documents (to whom?) to the man (where?) in the office. I buy a toy (where?) in the store. I give flowers (to whom?) to my wife (where?) in the cafe. In English indirect object can be also used without any preposition: Tell the doctor about you’ve just told me. («doctor» and «me» are indirect objects – we can recognize them by question «(to) whom?») In German it works like follows: Masculine Nominative (Nominativ) Wer? (Who?) Was? (What?) This is the (a) man. Das ist der (ein) Mann. This is the (a) park. Das ist der (ein) Park. Dative (Dativ) Wem? (To whom/which?) Wo? (Where?) I tell the (a) man that I am in the (a) park. Ich sage dem (einem) Mann, dass ich in dem (einem) Park bin. Feminine Nominative (Nominativ) Wer? (Who?) Was? (What?) This is the (a) woman. Das ist die (eine) Frau. This is the (a) city. Das ist die (eine) Stadt. Dative (Dativ) Wem? (To whom/which?) Wo? (Where?) I tell the (a) woman that she can buy flowers in the (a) city. Ich sage der (einer) Frau, dass sie Blumen in der (einer) Stadt kaufen kann. Neutral Nominative (Nominativ) Wer? (Who?) Was? (What?) This is the (a) child. Das ist das (ein) Kind. This is the (a) store. Das ist das Geschäft. Dative (Dativ) Wem? (To whom/which?) Wo? (Where?) I promise (to) the (a) child to buy a toy in the (a) store. Ich verspreche dem (einem) Kind, ein Spielzeug in dem (einem) Geschäft zu kaufen. Olena Shypilova – German for beginners in 7 Lessons English edition by Yuriy Bereza http://german.eustudy.ru/en 33 Plural Nominative (Nominativ) Wer? (Who?) Was? (What?) These are the people. Das sind die Leute. These are the cities. Das sind die Städte. Dative (Dativ) Wem? (To whom/which?) Wo? (Where?) I sell cars to the people which live in the cities. Ich verkaufe den Leuten, die in den Städten wohnen, die Autos. Masculine der (ein) Mann Feminine die (eine) Frau Neutral das (ein) Kind Plural die Leute Nominative (Nominativ) Wer? (Who?) Was? (What?) der (ein) die (eine) das (ein) die Dative (Dativ) Wem? (To whom/which?) Wo? (Where?) dem (einem) der (einer) dem (einem) den Leuten Exercise 1. Put words in brackets into correct case (Nominativ, Akkusativ or Dativ) 1. (der Mann) Ich frage nach dem Weg. (der Weg – way, direction) 2. (der Verkäufer) Ich gebe das Geld. (der Verkäufer – seller) 3. (die Kundin) Ich sehe auf dem Markt. (die Kundin – customer (she)) 4. (der Ober) Ich habe kein Messer. Ich rufe . (der Ober – waiter, das Messer – knife, rufen – to call) 5. (die Kinder) Ich kaufe einen Hamburger. 6. (die Kinder) Ich sehe an der Straßenecke. (an der Straßenecke – on the street corner) 7. (die Lehrerin) Ja, gibt mir mein Zeugnis! (die Lehrerin – teacher (she), das Zeugnis – certificate) 8. (die Männer) Ich sehe bei der Bank. (bei der Bank – at the bank) 9. (die Kundin) Ich gebe meine Tüte. (die Tüte – bag, packet) 10. (der Ober) Ja; bringt mir eine Hühnersuppe. (die Hühnersuppe – chicken soup) 11. (das Eis) Ich esse im Sommer. (essen – to eat, im Sommer – in summer) 12. (der Lehrer) In der Schule sehe ich jeden Tag. (in der Schule – in/at the school, jeden Tag – everyday) 13. (die Lehrerin) Am Montag gebe ich meine Hausaufgabe. (am Montag – on Monday, die Hausaufgabe – home task) Olena Shypilova – German for beginners in 7 Lessons English edition by Yuriy Bereza http://german.eustudy.ru/en 34 14. (die Mutter) Ja, macht mir morgens mein Frühstück. (morgens – in the morning (every morning), das Frühstück – breakfast) Check up! → http://german.eustudy.ru/en/Unterricht6Aufgabe1_antwort.php Exercise 2. Position or direction? Wo or Wohin? 1. wohnt Christian? – In der Kastanienstraße. 2. gehst du jetzt? – In die Bibliothek. 3. ist Roger? – Zu Hause. 4. muss Daniela gehen? – Zum Zahnarzt. (zum Zahnarzt – to dentist, der Zahnarzt – dentist) 5. möchtest du fahren? – Nach Norwegen. (Norwegen – Norway) 6. arbeitet Claudia? – In einem Eiscafé. 7. gehen wir heute? – Ins Theater. (das Theater – theatre) Check up! → http://german.eustudy.ru/en/Unterricht6Aufgabe2_antwort.php Let’s summarize our pleasing results We’ve learned almost whole basic German grammar in 6 lessons having spent 2.5 weeks. You can not overlook the efficiency: you invested only 3 hours of your life into German + you saved about EUR 240 (or even more). So much you would pay for 4 months at the language course (where you would learn the alphabet, reading words, counting your fingers, you would describe not only your room or flat but also those of your friends and neighbors, write letters about how your day looks like or how you feel today etc.) and so much would cost your evenings devoid of any free time. We’re looking forward to meet you. And let all of your difficulties remain in the past. By the way, did you know that Germans are so much «lazy» and prefer therefore to use only two grammar tenses – the Present and the Past? Well, on the other hand it’s much easier than getting crazy because of English sequence of tenses ☺ For us it’s rather important to know what difficulties you face when having our course. So, we thankfully accept every comment or critics via Skype (eustudy.ru) or e-mail (contact@eustudy.ru).