The Dative Case: Indirect Objects
When you give, show, or tell something to someone, that person is the indirect object of the sentence. In Croatian, indirect objects take the dative case.
To form the dative singular of a noun, you change its ending based on its gender:
| Gender | Dictionary Ending | Dative Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine & Neuter | Consonant, -o, or -e | -u | prijatelj ➔ prijatelju |
| Feminine | -a | -i | žena ➔ ženi |
Giving and Showing
Verbs like dati (to give) and pokazati (to show) naturally take the dative case for the person receiving the item or being shown the way. Notice how masculine nouns like prijatelj (friend) and učitelj (teacher) take the -u ending.
| We must give the friend money. | Moramo dati novac prijatelju. |
| They showed the teacher the way. | Pokazali su učitelju put. |
Explaining and Telling
Communication verbs like objasniti (to explain) and reći (to tell) also use the dative for the person being spoken to.
| The director explained the situation to the worker. | Direktor je radniku objasnio situaciju. |
For feminine nouns, drop the final -a and add -i. Watch how žena (woman) becomes ženi and sestra (sister) becomes sestri.
| You must tell the woman the truth. | Morate reći istinu ženi. |
| We told the sister a secret. | Rekli smo sestri tajnu. |
Sending and Bringing
Finally, use the dative when someone is the recipient of an action from verbs like poslati (to send) and donijeti (to bring).
| He sent the doctor a letter. | Poslao je pismo liječniku. |
| We brought the lady bread. | Donijeli smo kruh gospođi. |
