Word
Der Mann gibt der Mitarbeiterin den Bericht.
Meaning
The man gives the employee the report.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der Mann gibt der Mitarbeiterin den Bericht.
der Mann
the man
geben
to give
die Mitarbeiterin
the employee (female)
der Bericht
the report
Questions & Answers about Der Mann gibt der Mitarbeiterin den Bericht.
Why is the employee (der Mitarbeiterin) placed before the report (den Bericht)?
In German, when a sentence has two noun objects, the dative object (the receiver, der Mitarbeiterin) usually comes before the accusative object (the thing being given, den Bericht).
Wait, isn't Mitarbeiterin a female employee? Why does it use the article der?
You are right that the base word is die Mitarbeiterin. However, because she is receiving the report, she is the indirect object, which requires the dative case. In the dative case, the feminine article die changes to der.
Why do we say den Bericht instead of der Bericht?
The word Bericht is a masculine noun. Because it is the thing being given (the direct object), it is in the accusative case. The masculine article der changes to den in the accusative.
Why does the verb geben require two different cases here?
The verb geben (to give) naturally involves three pieces of information: a subject who does the giving (nominative: der Mann), a person who receives the item (dative: der Mitarbeiterin), and the actual item being given (accusative: den Bericht).