Types of Dative

Question 1

Dative with Transative

Answer 1

Lit. the dative is used to denote the object indirectly affected by an action. This is called the indirect object. It is usually denoted in English by ‘to’.
The Dative of the Indirect object with the accusative of the direct may be used with any transitive verb whose meaning allows.
E.g. Dō tibi librum.
I give you a book.

Question 2

Dative with intransitive verbs

Answer 2

Lit. Intransitive verbs of affect and personal relationship, often in the second conjugation (eg. noceo, faveo, voveo, caveo, studeo, pareo), take the dative of the person affected by the action or emotion.
E.g. Caesarī respondētur.
A reply is given to Cæsar.

Question 3

Dative of compounds

Answer 3

Lit. Verbs, especially the verb “to be”, when compounded with a pre-verb (a preposition used adverbially and attached directly to the root verb) take a dative whose meaning goes very closely with the new sense imparted to thecompound verb by the pre-verb.
E.g.
desum = “to fail”, desum tibi = “to fail you”

Question 4

Dative with impersonals

Answer 4

Impersonal verbs like licet, libet, placet, expedit, accidit, contingit take the dative of the person.

Question 5

Dative of possession

Answer 5

The dative is used with the verb “to be” to indicate the person for whose benefit something exists. In many cases, this implies possession. The Dative, however, is different from the Genitive of possession in that it typically implies a personal connection of use, enjoyment, etc. that goes beyond the legal possession. For this reason, sometimes this dative is called the “sympathetic dative”.

Question 6

Dative of the person judging

Answer 6

Someone’s “interest in a thing or quality” may be specifically that of judgment or perspective. When this is the case, the Dative is used. Some examples may help to clarify the range of this dative.
E.g. tu mihi es carus = “you are dear to me”

Question 7

Dative of the agent

Answer 7

The Dative is used with the Gerundive to indicate the person upon whom the obligation or necessity lies. Since this readily implies that that person will have to do something, this Dative is called the Dative of Agent, although it is not strictly speaking a agent.

Question 8

Ethical dative

Answer 8

The weakest form of the Dative is the Ethical Dative. Here, the dative pronoun indicates the person who has a general interest in the activity, and when that person is talking to another, “for me” becomes the equivalent of “please”. The usage is colloquial and is confined to certain kinds of situations. Thus, the first person usually means “please”, as above; the second person is used to draw one’s interlocutor attention and is translated with phrases like “lo” and “for your pleasure.”

Question 9

Predicative dative

Answer 9

Dative or Dative of Purpose and Result: The Dative, as the usages above indicate, is usually a person or a personal noun. The most significant exception to this rule is the Dative of Purpose, also called the Dative of Service or Purpose, the Dative of Purpose and Result and the Predicative Dative. It is used with abstract verbal nouns, usually from the language of crafts, including warcraft, to indicate the end that is effected by the verb.
E.g. receptui canere = “to sound [the signal] for retreat”