Dative case

A1 — Latin Grammar

The dative case marks the indirect object, the person to whom or for whom something is done.

Can recognize Dative case in a short Latin prompt

Examples

— I give a rose to my daughter.
— I write a letter to a friend.

Latin GrammarA1

Dative case

The dative case marks the indirect object, the person to whom or for whom something is done.

Learning Goal

Can recognize Dative case in a short Latin prompt

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

I give a rose to my daughter.

I write a letter to a friend.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

The dative case marks the indirect object, the person to whom or for whom something is done. It answers "to whom?" or "for whom?" and often appears with verbs of giving, showing, telling, and speaking.

Declension	Nominative	Dative sing.	Dative pl.
1st	puella	puellae	puellīs
2nd	servus	servō	servīs
3rd	rēx	rēgī	rēgibus

Examples:

Puella servō rosam dat. - The girl gives a rose to the slave.
Magister puerīs fābulam nārrat. - The teacher tells the boys a story.
Rēgī pārent. - They obey the king.

Two things to watch. English speakers often expect a "to" or "for" and, seeing none, mistake the dative noun for a subject or object; instead let the ending flag it as the receiver. Also note the last example: some Latin verbs (like pāreō, obey) take a dative where English uses a plain object, so "obey the king" is rēgī pārent, not an accusative.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

I give a rose to my daughter.

Filiae is the indirect object. English says 'to my daughter' or moves it before the object; Latin changes the ending instead.

I write a letter to a friend.

Amico is dative even though it looks like the ablative amico. Only the sentence tells them apart.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

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Frequently asked questions

When is Dative case used?: The dative case marks the indirect object , the person to whom or for whom something is done. It answers "to whom?" or "for whom?" and often appears with verbs of giving, showing, telling, and speaking.
How is Dative case formed?: English usually signals this with the words "to" or "for," or by word order: "I give the boy a book" means I give a book to the boy. Latin drops the little word and marks the receiver with a dative ending instead. Two things to watch. English speakers often expect a "to" or "for" and, seeing none, mistake the dative noun for a subject or object; instead let the ending flag it as the receiver. Also note the last example: some Latin verbs (like pāreō , obey) take a dative where English uses a plain object, so "obey the king" is rēgī pārent , not an accusative.

Declension

Nominative

Dative sing.

Dative pl.

1st

puella

puellae

puellīs

2nd

servus

servō

servīs

3rd

rēx

rēgī

rēgibus

Frequently asked questions

When is Dative case used?

The dative case marks the indirect object , the person to whom or for whom something is done. It answers "to whom?" or "for whom?" and often appears with verbs of giving, showing, telling, and speaking.

How is Dative case formed?

English usually signals this with the words "to" or "for," or by word order: "I give the boy a book" means I give a book to the boy. Latin drops the little word and marks the receiver with a dative ending instead. Two things to watch. English speakers often expect a "to" or "for" and, seeing none, mistake the dative noun for a subject or object; instead let the ending flag it as the receiver. Also note the last example: some Latin verbs (like pāreō , obey) take a dative where English uses a plain object, so "obey the king" is rēgī pārent , not an accusative.