Indefinite articles in the Dative
When an unspecified person or thing receives an action, we use indefinite articles in the Dative case. The endings mirror the definite articles (dem and der). Masculine and neuter nouns take einem, and feminine nouns take einer.
| Gender | Nominative | Dative |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | ein | einem |
| Neuter | ein | einem |
| Feminine | eine | einer |
| We are helping a child. | Wir helfen einem Kind. |
| Does the dog belong to a friend? | Gehört der Hund einem Freund? |
Negative articles in the Dative
To say "not a" or "no" in German, use the negative article kein. It takes the exact same Dative endings as ein: keinem for masculine and neuter, and keiner for feminine. (For plural nouns, use keinen and add an -n to the noun).
| The woman is not answering a man. | Die Frau antwortet keinem Mann. |
More Dative verbs: Trusting and believing
You have already learned verbs like helfen and antworten that always take the Dative case, even though they look like direct objects in English. Two more common verbs that follow this rule are vertrauen (to trust) and glauben (to believe).
| to trust | vertrauen |
| The child trusts a dog. | Das Kind vertraut einem Hund. |
| You do not believe a woman. | Du glaubst keiner Frau. |
Sending, telling, and explaining
When an action involves communicating or transferring something to someone, the sentence will usually have two objects. The thing being sent or told takes the Accusative case, while the person receiving it takes the Dative case.
Verbs that commonly use this structure include schicken (to send), erzählen (to tell), and erklären (to explain).
| We are sending a child a book. | Wir schicken einem Kind ein Buch. |
| He is telling a child a story. | Er erzählt einem Kind eine Geschichte. |
| I am not explaining the problem to a man. | Ich erkläre keinem Mann das Problem. |
| I tell a story to a grandpa and a grandma. | Ich erzähle einem Opa und einer Oma eine Geschichte. |