Ich vertraue meiner Schwester.

I trust my sister.

Breakdown of Ich vertraue meiner Schwester.

• ich: I
• mein: my
• die Schwester: the sister
• vertrauen: to trust

Questions & Answers about Ich vertraue meiner Schwester.

Why is meiner used instead of meine in meiner Schwester?

Because meiner Schwester is in the dative case.

• The verb vertrauen (to trust) takes a dative object, not an accusative one.
• Schwester is feminine, singular.
• The possessive meine in the feminine dative singular becomes meiner.

Very short pattern:

• Nominative (subject): meine Schwester – my sister (does something)
• Accusative (direct object): meine Schwester – I see my sister
• Dative (indirect object / verb that needs dative): meiner Schwester – I trust my sister

So: Ich vertraue meiner Schwester. = I trust my sister.

How do I know that vertrauen uses the dative case?

You have to learn it as part of the verb’s meaning. Some very common verbs in German always take a dative object instead of an accusative one.

Common examples:

• jemandem helfen – to help someone
• jemandem danken – to thank someone
• jemandem glauben – to believe someone
• jemandem gefallen – to please someone
• jemandem folgen – to follow someone
• jemandem vertrauen – to trust someone

So when you learn vertrauen, memorize it as:

jemandem vertrauen – to trust someone (dative!)

Why is there no preposition like in English “trust in my sister”? Why not Ich vertraue in meiner Schwester?

In German, vertrauen usually takes a dative object without any preposition:

• ✅ Ich vertraue meiner Schwester.
• ❌ Ich vertraue in meiner Schwester.

English often needs a preposition (trust in, believe in), but German often doesn’t.

There is a related construction with a noun:

• Vertrauen in etwas/jemanden haben – to have trust in something/someone
  
  • Ich habe Vertrauen in meine Schwester.

But with the verb vertrauen, you say:

• jemandem vertrauen (dative, no preposition)

Can I change the word order and say Meiner Schwester vertraue ich?

Yes. German allows flexible word order, as long as the finite verb stays in second position in main clauses.

• Neutral: Ich vertraue meiner Schwester.
• Emphasis on meiner Schwester: Meiner Schwester vertraue ich.

Both are correct; the second version sounds a bit more emphatic or contrastive, like:

My sister, I trust. (Implied: others, maybe not.)

How would I say “I trust her” instead of repeating “my sister”?

You replace meiner Schwester with the dative personal pronoun for sie (singular feminine):

• Ich vertraue ihr. – I trust her.

A few relevant pronouns in the dative:

• mir – to me
• dir – to you (informal singular)
• ihm – to him / it (masc./neut.)
• ihr – to her
• uns – to us
• euch – to you (informal plural)
• ihnen / Ihnen – to them / to you (formal)

What’s the difference between Ich vertraue meiner Schwester and Ich glaube meiner Schwester?

Both can sometimes be translated as I trust my sister, but they focus on different kinds of trust:

• jemandem glauben = to believe someone

  • You accept what the person says as true in a specific situation.
  • Ich glaube meiner Schwester. = I believe what my sister is saying.

• jemandem vertrauen = to trust someone (in general)

  • You have confidence in the person’s character, reliability, and intentions.
  • Ich vertraue meiner Schwester. = I trust my sister (as a person).

So glauben is usually about specific statements, vertrauen about overall reliability/character.

Can I also say Ich traue meiner Schwester? What’s the difference between vertrauen and trauen?

You can say Ich traue meiner Schwester, but there are nuances:

• jemandem vertrauen is the standard, clear way to say to trust someone.
• jemandem trauen also means to trust someone, but:
  • It’s often used in negative or cautious contexts:
    
    • Ich traue ihm nicht. – I don’t trust him.
  • Or in expressions of doubt:
    
    • Dem Frieden traue ich nicht. – I don’t quite trust this peace.

Also, trauen has another, very different meaning: jemanden trauen = to marry someone (as a priest/official).

For a learner, it’s safest and clearest to use:

• jemandem vertrauen for “to trust someone” in a general, positive sense.

Is vertrauen a regular verb, and how do I say it in the past tense?

Yes, vertrauen is a regular (weak) verb with an inseparable prefix ver-.

Present tense (Präsens):

• ich vertraue
• du vertraust
• er/sie/es vertraut
• wir vertrauen
• ihr vertraut
• sie/Sie vertrauen

Perfect tense (Perfekt):

• Auxiliary: haben
• Past participle: vertraut (no ge-, because ver- is inseparable)

Examples:

• Ich habe meiner Schwester vertraut. – I trusted my sister.
• Wir haben ihm immer vertraut. – We have always trusted him.

Why is Schwester capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of where they appear in the sentence.

• Schwester is a noun → capitalized.
• meiner is a possessive determiner (like my) → not capitalized.
• ich is a pronoun → not capitalized (except at the beginning of a sentence).

So:

• Ich vertraue meiner Schwester.
  Noun = Schwester → capital letter.

How would this sentence change with other family members, like “my brother” or “my parents”?

The verb vertrauen still needs dative, but the form of the possessive changes with gender and number.

Masculine – der Bruder (brother)
Dative singular: meinem Bruder

• Ich vertraue meinem Bruder. – I trust my brother.

Neuter – das Kind (child)
Dative singular: meinem Kind

• Ich vertraue meinem Kind.

Plural – die Eltern (parents)
Dative plural: meinen Eltern

• Ich vertraue meinen Eltern. – I trust my parents.

Summary pattern with mein- in dative:

• masc. sg.: meinem Bruder
• neut. sg.: meinem Kind
• fem. sg.: meiner Schwester
• plural: meinen Eltern

Can vertrauen be used with things or only with people? For example, can I say “I trust the system”?

You can definitely use vertrauen with things, systems, organizations, etc.

Examples:

• Ich vertraue dem System. – I trust the system.
• Ich vertraue dieser Methode. – I trust this method.
• Ich vertraue der Technik nicht. – I don’t trust the technology.

The grammar is the same: vertrauen + dative. The noun just changes:

• meiner Schwester – my sister
• dem System – the system
• dieser Methode – this method