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### 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 |

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### 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).

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### 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).

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### 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).

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Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
We are helping a child.	Wir helfen einem Kind.
Does the dog belong to a friend?	Gehört der Hund einem Freund?
The woman is not answering a man.	Die Frau antwortet keinem Mann.
to trust	vertrauen
the animal	das Tier
I do not trust an animal.	Ich vertraue keinem Tier.
to believe	glauben
You do not believe a woman.	Du glaubst keiner Frau.
to send	schicken
We are sending a child a book.	Wir schicken einem Kind ein Buch.
to tell	erzählen
the story	die Geschichte
He is telling a child a story.	Er erzählt einem Kind eine Geschichte.
to explain	erklären
The teacher explains the problem to a girl.	Der Lehrer erklärt einem Mädchen das Problem.
You are giving a dog the water.	Ihr gebt einem Hund das Wasser.
We are sending a friend a gift.	Wir schicken einem Freund ein Geschenk.
I am not explaining the problem to a man.	Ich erkläre keinem Mann das Problem.
What are you telling a friend?	Was erzählt ihr einem Freund?
The child trusts a dog.	Das Kind vertraut einem Hund.
Does a child believe a teacher?	Glaubt ein Kind einem Lehrer?
I am not buying a child a cell phone.	Ich kaufe keinem Kind ein Handy.
You are sending a teacher the e-mail.	Du schickst einem Lehrer die E-Mail.
the grandpa	der Opa
the grandma	die Oma
I tell a story to a grandpa and a grandma.	Ich erzähle einem Opa und einer Oma eine Geschichte.
the baby	das Baby
The animal belongs to a baby.	Das Tier gehört einem Baby.
A baby trusts no grandpa and no grandma.	Ein Baby vertraut keinem Opa und keiner Oma.