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Questions & Answers about Das Auto gehört dem Mann.
Why does the sentence use dem Mann instead of der Mann?
The verb gehören (to belong to) requires the person who owns the item to be in the dative case. Because Mann is a masculine noun, its article changes from the basic der to dem in the dative case.
The English translation says "belongs to the man". Where is the word for "to"?
You don't need one! The verb gehören already translates to "to belong to". By putting the owner in the dative case with dem, you automatically express the idea of "to the man". Adding an extra word for "to" here would be incorrect.
What is the subject of this sentence?
Das Auto (the car) is the subject, which is why it is in the basic nominative case. Just like in English, the thing doing the "belonging" is the subject, and the verb gehört is conjugated to match it.
Can I change the word order and put the man first?
Yes! You can say Dem Mann gehört das Auto. Because the dative article dem clearly marks the man as the receiver or owner, you can safely put him at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize who the car belongs to without changing the meaning.