Day 26 - dative verbs Flashcards
Some verbs in German always use the dative case.
Study the following example using helfen (to help):
I am helping you.
Ich helfe dir.
You may have originally thought the correct translation used the accusative: Ich helfe dich. But helfen always takes the dative case, so the correct translation is: Ich helfe dir.
There are a number of verbs in German that use the dative case, and unfortunately, you just have to memorize them.
Reflexive verbs can also use the dative case. However, the dative form of sich is sich. So only the ich and du forms will change, using mir and dir instead of mich and dich.
Study the following example using sich vorstellen (to imagine):
I imagine. Ich stelle mir vor.
Reflexive verbs which can take an object are tricky, and use both accusative and dative.
If the sentence has an object, sich becomes dative, without an object, sich is accusative.
Study the following examples:
I am washing myself. Ich wasche mich.
I am washing my hands. Ich wasche mir die Hände. MIR BECOMES DATIVE
I am getting dressed. Ich ziehe mich an.
I am putting my shirt on. Ich ziehe mir das Hemd an. MIR BECOMES DATIVE
helfen…to help. HALF, GEHOLFEN
hilft
TAKES THE DATIVE
vor.stellen sich…to imagine
TAKES THE DATIVE
vergeben…to forgive. VERGAB, VERGEBEN
vergibt
TAKES THE DATIVE
folgen…to follow
TAKES THE DATIVE
gehören…to belong to
TAKES THE DATIVE
Originally, “Aufhören!” meant something like “Listen up!” and you would use it to get somebody to stop whatever they were doing and give you their full attention. So with time, it came to mean simply “Stop what you’re doing.”
Similarly, “gehören” was an intensive form of “hören”, and was originally used to describe a person listening carefully to you, and following your orders. The very similar word “gehorchen” (from “horchen” = “to hark”, “to listen intently”, as in: “Hark! The herald-angels sing”) still means “to obey”, while “gehören” developed further and came to mean “to belong”. Originally this was used for servants and employees (people who had to obey your orders), but later became generalised and used for animals and inanimate objects as well.
schulden…to owe
TAKES THE DATIVE
ähneln…to resemble
TAKES THE DATIVE
vertrauen…to trust
TAKES THE DATIVE
Trauen and vertrauen mean absolutely the same (to trust), however sich trauen means to dare.
Ich traue keinem.
Ich vertraue meinen Instinkten.
Ich traue mich nicht, ins Wasser zu springen.
Exception: when talking about supernatural beings, only vertrauen auf can be used:
Ich vertraue auf die Hilfe des heiligen Antonius.
befehlen…to order, to command. BEFAHL, BEFOHLEN
befiehlt
TAKES THE DATIVE
widersprechen…to contradict. WIDERSPRACH, WIDERSPROCHEN
widerspricht
TAKES THE DATIVE
- Can you help me?
Kannst du mir helfen?
Ich -> mir
du -> dir
er -> ihm
sie -> ihr
es -> ihm
wir -> uns
ihr -> euch
sie -> ihnen
Sie -> Ihnen
- Can you imagine that?
Kannst du dir das vorstellen?
Ich -> mir
du -> dir
er -> ihm
sie -> ihr
es -> ihm
wir -> uns
ihr -> euch
sie -> ihnen
Sie -> Ihnen
- We can not forgive you.
Wir können dir nicht vergeben.
Ich -> mir
du -> dir
er -> ihm
sie -> ihr
es -> ihm
wir -> uns
ihr -> euch
sie -> ihnen
Sie -> Ihnen
