Ich danke der Bibliothekarin für ihre freundliche Antwort.

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Breakdown of Ich danke der Bibliothekarin für ihre freundliche Antwort.

• für: for
• freundlich: friendly
• ihre: her

Questions & Answers about Ich danke der Bibliothekarin für ihre freundliche Antwort.

Why is der Bibliothekarin in the dative case instead of the accusative?

The verb danken always takes its object (the person you’re thanking) in the dative case. In English we say “I thank someone” with a direct object, but German uses the dative:

• Ich danke der Bibliothekarin.

If you tried accusative (“die Bibliothekarin”), it would be ungrammatical.

Why is there a für before ihre freundliche Antwort, and what case does für govern?

The preposition für means “for” in English, and it always requires the accusative case. So when you thank someone für ihre freundliche Antwort, ihre freundliche Antwort is an accusative object of für.

Why is the possessive pronoun ihre used here, and how does it agree with Antwort?

ihre is the feminine singular possessive pronoun “her.” It agrees with the noun Antwort, which is feminine (die Antwort). In the accusative singular feminine, ihr- takes the ending -e, giving ihre.

How does the adjective ending -e in freundliche Antwort get determined?