Verbs with Dative and Accusative Complements

Some verbs, in addition to a nominative complement, also require a dative and an accusative complement.

These are primarily verbs related to giving, taking, and saying.

These verbs require a total of 3 persons and/or things.

The subject as always is in the Nominative – Complement.

In the Dative – Complement steht in der Regel der Empfänger. (indirektes Objekt)

In the Accusative – Complement steht da in der Regel eine Sache. (direktes Objekt)

„Der Mann gibt dem Kind den Ball.“

„Der Mann“ is the acting person here → Nominative

„Das Kind“ is the recipient here → Dative → „dem Kind“

„Der Ball“ is the direct object here, the object with which something is done → Accusative → „den Ball“

„Er schickt seinem Bruder das Geschenk per Post.“

„Er“ is the acting person here → Nominative

„Sein Bruder“ is the recipient here → Dative → „seinem Bruder“

„Das Geschenk“ is the direct object here, the object with which something is done. → Accusative → „das Geschenk“

„Per Post“ is additional information, not strictly necessary and could be omitted.

„Er hat (mir) eine E-Mail geschrieben.“

„Er“ is the acting person here → Nominative

„Ich“ am the recipient here. → Dative → „mir“ (Personalpronomen im Dativ)

„Die E-Mail“ is the direct object here, the object with which something is done. → Accusative → „eine E-Mail“

Attention:

If the „Empfänger“ is obvious or unknown, the dative complement can also be omitted:

„Er hat (mir) eine E-Mail geschrieben.“

„Er schickt (seinem Bruder) das Geschenk per Post.“

Word Order:

Sentence with nouns and persons without pronouns:

Nominative + Verb + Dative + Accusative
Der Mann	gibt	seiner Tochter	das Buch.

Sentence with accusative OR dative as pronoun:

Nominative + Verb + Pronouns + Accusative/Dative
Der Mann	gibt	ihr	das Buch.
Der Mann	gibt	es	seiner Tochter.

Sentence with two pronouns in accusative and dative:

Nominative + Verb + Accusative + Dative
Der Mann	gibt	es	ihr.
Er	gibt	es	ihr.

The nominative complement typically occupies position 1.

If pronouns are not used for the dative or accusative complements, they can also be placed in position 1 to emphasize them.

Summary:

Some verbs require both a dative and an accusative complement.
These verbs need an additional person AND a thing besides the subject.
The recipient is the indirect object and appears in the dative case, while the direct object is in the accusative case.
This rule applies only when there is no preposition before the noun.
Prepositions always determine which case should be used.See also: Prepositional complements.

Task:

Your native language:

Check if the word order changes in your native language when using pronouns.
Do you also need to place pronouns before nouns?

Exercise:

[h5p id="687"][h5p id="688"]

As for the task, it prompts the reader to reflect on whether their native language follows similar rules regarding word order and pronoun usage in sentences with dative and accusative complements.

Grammar Training – Direct & Indirect Objects

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