Statt einem schnellen Vorwurf hilft oft eine ruhige Frage.

Instead of a quick reproach a calm question often helps.

Breakdown of Statt einem schnellen Vorwurf hilft oft eine ruhige Frage.

• oft: often
• ruhig: calm
• helfen: to help
• die Frage: the question

Questions & Answers about Statt einem schnellen Vorwurf hilft oft eine ruhige Frage.

What does statt mean, and which case does it take in this sentence?

statt means instead of.

Traditionally, statt governs the genitive case:

• statt eines schnellen Vorwurfs – instead of a quick reproach

In the sentence you gave, you see:

• statt einem schnellen Vorwurf

That is dative instead of genitive. Using the dative after statt is very common in spoken and informal German and is increasingly seen in written German too. But in very formal writing or in textbooks, you are more likely to see the genitive:

• Statt eines schnellen Vorwurfs hilft oft eine ruhige Frage.

Why is it einem schnellen Vorwurf and not einen schnellen Vorwurf?

einem is dative masculine; einen is accusative masculine.

• Vorwurf is masculine: der Vorwurf
• After statt, the noun phrase has to be in the case governed by statt.
• Here the writer uses dative: einem schnellen Vorwurf

So:

• Dative masculine: einem schnellen Vorwurf
• Accusative masculine: einen schnellen Vorwurf

You would only use einen if Vorwurf were a direct object of the verb, which it is not here. The structure is not “X blames Y”, but “Instead of X, Y helps.”