Breakdown of Ein Baby vertraut keinem Opa und keiner Oma.
ein
a, an (eine)
und
and
kein
no, not any
vertrauen
to trust
der Opa
the grandpa
die Oma
the grandma
das Baby
the baby
Questions & Answers about Ein Baby vertraut keinem Opa und keiner Oma.
Why do we use the dative case here (keinem and keiner) instead of the accusative?
The verb vertrauen (to trust) is a "dative verb." This means it always requires its object to be in the dative case, rather than the more common accusative case. Grammatically, it is like saying the baby gives its trust to them.
How do we get the ending for keinem Opa?
Opa (grandpa) is a masculine noun (der Opa). In the dative case, masculine articles take an -m ending. So, the negative article kein (no / not any) becomes keinem.
Why does Oma get an -er ending (keiner Oma)? Isn't -er for masculine words?
This is a very common trick! In the nominative (subject) case, -er is often a masculine ending. However, in the dative case, feminine words (die Oma) change their articles to end in -r. That is why kein becomes keiner for a feminine noun in the dative.
Why doesn't Ein Baby change its ending?
Baby is the subject of the sentence (the one doing the action), so it is in the nominative case. Because it is a neuter noun (das Baby), its nominative article is simply ein.
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