Word
Heute Morgen habe ich der Nachbarin einen Brief geschrieben.
Meaning
This morning I wrote a letter to the female neighbor.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Heute Morgen habe ich der Nachbarin einen Brief geschrieben.
ich
I
heute
today
haben
to have
der Morgen
the morning
Questions & Answers about Heute Morgen habe ich der Nachbarin einen Brief geschrieben.
Why is der Nachbarin in the dative case rather than die Nachbarin?
The verb schreiben requires two objects:
- an indirect object (the person you write to) in the dative
- a direct object (the thing you write) in the accusative
Since Nachbarin is feminine, its nominative die Nachbarin changes to der Nachbarin in the dative singular.
How do you know which object is dative and which is accusative in this sentence?
Look at the roles:
- der Nachbarin is the recipient → indirect object → dative
- einen Brief is the thing being written → direct object → accusative
You can also spot it by the articles:
- der (feminine dative)
- einen (masculine accusative)
Why does der Nachbarin come before einen Brief? Could you swap them?