Breakdown of Der Chef zeigt dem Mitarbeiter den Vertrag.
der Chef
the boss (male)
zeigen
to show
der Mitarbeiter
the employee (male)
der Vertrag
the contract
Questions & Answers about Der Chef zeigt dem Mitarbeiter den Vertrag.
Why do we have both dem and den in the same sentence?
This sentence uses the verb zeigen (to show), which takes two objects. The boss shows a thing (the direct object) to a person (the indirect object). The receiver of the action is in the dative case (dem Mitarbeiter), and the thing being shown is in the accusative case (den Vertrag). Both are masculine nouns, which is why their basic der articles change to dem (dative) and den (accusative).
Why does dem Mitarbeiter come before den Vertrag?
When a sentence has two noun objects, the rule in German is that the dative noun comes before the accusative noun. Because the employee is the receiver and the contract is the thing being shown, the dative person (dem Mitarbeiter) steps in line before the accusative thing (den Vertrag).
Do I need a word for 'to' before dem Mitarbeiter?
No, you don't need to add a preposition. The dative article (dem) already does that job for you. By putting the receiver in the dative case, you are automatically expressing that the action is directed 'to' the employee.
The word Mitarbeiter can be singular or plural. How do we know it is singular here?