Breakdown of Ich vertraue meiner Schwester.
ich
I
mein
my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)
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 ?