Ich zeige diesem Mann den Park.

Ich zeige diesem Mann den Park.
I show this man the park.
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Questions & Answers about Ich zeige diesem Mann den Park.

Why is diesem Mann in the dative case?

The verb zeigen is a ditransitive verb—it takes two objects. The person to whom you show something is always in the dative case. Since Mann is masculine, the dative singular of dieser Mann is diesem Mann.

Why is den Park in the accusative case?

The thing being shown is the direct object, which goes into the accusative. Park is masculine, so its accusative singular article is den. Hence den Park.

How do the definite articles change for Mann and Park here?

Both nouns are masculine, but they take different cases:

  • Mann is the indirect object → dative singular → der Mann becomes dem Mann (or diesem Mann with the demonstrative).
  • Park is the direct object → accusative singular → der Park becomes den Park.

Declension summary:
• Nominative: der Mann / der Park
• Dative: dem Mann / dem Park
• Accusative: den Mann / den Park

Why does the indirect object come before the direct object in this sentence?

In German, when both objects are full noun phrases, it’s common to place the dative (indirect object) before the accusative (direct object). If one were a pronoun, the pronoun usually comes first regardless of case: • Ich zeige ihm den Park.
• Ich zeige diesem Mann ihn.

But with two noun phrases, dative → accusative is the neutral order.

Could I replace diesem Mann with a pronoun? If so, how?

Yes. The dative pronoun for er (he) is ihm. You would say:
Ich zeige ihm den Park.

How would you form the German question “To whom are you showing the park?”

You replace the dative object with wem (the dative question word) and invert subject and verb:
Wem zeigst du den Park?

What kind of verb is zeigen, and why does it take two objects?

zeigen is a ditransitive verb (like geben, schenken, schicken). It naturally takes:

  1. an indirect object in the dative (the recipient, “to whom”), and
  2. a direct object in the accusative (the thing given or shown).
Can you swap the demonstratives and say Ich zeige diesem Mann diesen Park? What’s the nuance?

Yes, you can. Changing den to diesen (“this park”) adds emphasis to which park you’re showing. Both are grammatically correct:
• Ich zeige diesem Mann den Park. (I show the park to this man.)
• Ich zeige diesem Mann diesen Park. (I show this park to this man.)