Ich zeige ihnen den Park.

I show them the park.

Breakdown of Ich zeige ihnen den Park.

• ich: I
• den: the
• zeigen: to show
• der Park: the park
• ihnen: them

Questions & Answers about Ich zeige ihnen den Park.

What does ihnen mean here, and why not sie?

ihnen is the dative plural pronoun meaning to them.

The verb zeigen (to show) normally uses:

• a dative object for the person: ihnen (to them)
• an accusative object for the thing: den Park (the park)

If you used sie instead:

• sie (plural) is accusative or nominative, not dative.
• Ich zeige sie den Park is ungrammatical, because the person must be in the dative case after zeigen.

So:

• ich zeige ihnen den Park = I show them the park (correct)
• ich zeige sie den Park = wrong in standard German

Why is ihnen lowercase here, and when would it be written as Ihnen?

Lowercase ihnen = to them (3rd person plural, dative).
Uppercase Ihnen = to you (formal Sie, singular or plural, dative).

So:

• Ich zeige ihnen den Park. → I show them the park.
• Ich zeige Ihnen den Park. → I show you (formal) the park.

The polite pronoun Sie/Ihnen/Ihr is always capitalized in the middle of a sentence.
All other personal pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, wir, ihr, sie) are written in lowercase (except at the beginning of a sentence).

Why is it den Park and not der Park or dem Park?

Park is a masculine noun in German:

• Nominative: der Park
• Accusative: den Park
• Dative: dem Park

In Ich zeige ihnen den Park, den Park is the direct object (the thing that is shown), so it must be accusative:

• Subject (nominative): ich
• Indirect object (dative): ihnen
• Direct object (accusative): den Park

That is why it is den Park and not der Park or dem Park.

How can I tell which object is dative and which is accusative in this sentence?

Use both verb patterns and meaning.

1. Verb pattern:
   The verb zeigen usually takes:

   • a dative object for the person you show something to
   • an accusative object for the thing being shown

   So:

   • Person → dative → ihnen
   • Thing → accusative → den Park

2. Meaning test in English:

   • I show them the park.
   • them corresponds to to them → indirect → dative
   • the park is what is shown → direct object → accusative

So ihnen must be dative, and den Park must be accusative.

Is Ich zeige ihnen den Park the only correct word order? Can I say Ich zeige den Park ihnen or Den Park zeige ich ihnen?

Other word orders are possible and correct, but the neutral, most common order is:

• Subject – Verb – Dative – Accusative
  → Ich zeige ihnen den Park.

You can change the order to emphasize something:

• Ich zeige den Park ihnen.
  – Possible, but sounds a bit marked or slightly unnatural in everyday speech.
  – More typical if you want to stress den Park (and contrast with something else).

• Den Park zeige ich ihnen.
  – Also correct.
  – Puts strong emphasis on den Park (for example: not the museum, but the park).

General rule of thumb in spoken, neutral German:
Dative before accusative when both are pronouns or short phrases.

Can Ich zeige ihnen den Park also mean I will show them the park?

Yes. German often uses the present tense to talk about the near future, especially when the context makes the time clear.

So:

• Ich zeige ihnen den Park morgen.
  → This is naturally understood as I will show them the park tomorrow.

If you want to make the future even clearer or more formal, you can use werden:

• Ich werde ihnen den Park zeigen.
  → Also I will show them the park, with explicit future tense.

Why does zeigen take a dative object without a preposition like zu? In English we say show the park to them.

In German, some verbs directly govern the dative case without a preposition. zeigen is one of them.

• English: show the park to them
• German: ihnen den Park zeigen (no zu)

So ihnen already contains the meaning of to them.
Adding zu is wrong in this structure:

• ✗ Ich zeige den Park zu ihnen. (incorrect)

Typical verbs like this include geben (to give), zeigen (to show), erklären (to explain), schenken (to give as a present), all taking:

• Dative for the person
• Accusative for the thing

What is the difference between ihnen, dir, and euch?

These are all dative pronouns, but for different persons and levels of formality:

• dir – dative singular, informal you

  • Ich zeige dir den Park. → I show you (one friend) the park.

• euch – dative plural, informal you (all)

  • Ich zeige euch den Park. → I show you guys / you all the park.

• ihnen – dative plural, them

  • Ich zeige ihnen den Park. → I show them the park.

• Ihnen – dative, formal you (singular or plural)

  • Ich zeige Ihnen den Park. → I show you (polite) the park.

So ihnen (lowercase) never means you; it only means them.

Can I drop ich and just say Zeige ihnen den Park?

If you drop ich, the meaning changes:

• Ich zeige ihnen den Park.
  → normal statement: I show them the park.

• Zeige ihnen den Park.
  → sounds like a command (imperative), but even then it is not in the usual form.

For a proper imperative you would say, for example:

• To one informal person: Zeig ihnen den Park.
• To several informal people: Zeigt ihnen den Park.
• To one or several formal persons: Zeigen Sie ihnen den Park.

In normal statements, German does not usually drop the subject pronoun; you need ich.

What tense and person is zeige?

zeige is:

• 1st person singular
• present tense
• of the verb zeigen (to show)

Full present tense conjugation of zeigen:

• ich zeige
• du zeigst
• er/sie/es zeigt
• wir zeigen
• ihr zeigt
• sie/Sie zeigen

So Ich zeige ihnen den Park is present tense, I-form.

Can I replace ihnen with a noun, like den Touristen, and how does that affect the cases?

Yes. You can replace the pronoun ihnen with a noun phrase in the dative case:

• Ich zeige den Touristen den Park.
  
  • den Touristen is dative plural (the tourists)
  • den Park is still accusative singular (the park)

Structure:

• Subject (nominative): ich
• Indirect object (dative): den Touristen
• Direct object (accusative): den Park

The case pattern is the same: person = dative, thing = accusative.

Is Ich werde ihnen den Park zeigen also correct, and how does it differ from Ich zeige ihnen den Park?

Yes, Ich werde ihnen den Park zeigen is correct. It uses the future tense:

• Ich zeige ihnen den Park.
  – Present tense; often used for present or near future depending on context.

• Ich werde ihnen den Park zeigen.
  – Explicit future tense; can sound more formal, more planned, or more distant in time.

In everyday conversation, Germans often prefer the present tense with a time expression:

• Ich zeige ihnen morgen den Park.
• Morgen zeige ich ihnen den Park.

The choice between present and werden-future is usually about style and emphasis, not about strict grammar.