What is a Dative Case | Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Dative Case

Definition:

Dative case is a case that marks any of the following:

Indirect objects (for languages in which they are held to exist)
Nouns having the role of:
- recipient (as of things given)
- beneficiary of an action
- possessor of an item

Examples:

(German)

The word mir ‘(to) me’ is in dative case, as seen in the following sentence.

Gib mir Brot. Give me bread.

This word contrasts with ich ‘I’ and mich ‘me’.

See Also:

Indirect Object

Source:

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This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.

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