German Dative Verbs
Recognise the verbs that take the dative and use mir, dir and ihm naturally with helfen, gefallen and more.
Most German verbs take an accusative object. A small but very common group takes a dative object instead.
English gives no hint: "help me" looks like any other object, but in German it's mir helfen.
One object, and it's dative
With these verbs the only object goes in the dative. You'll notice it most with pronouns.
Dative pronouns
- ichmir
- dudir
- erihm
- sieihr
- esihm
- wiruns
- ihreuch
- sie · Sieihnen · Ihnen
Kannst du mir kurz helfen?
Can you help me for a moment?
Ich danke dir für die Blumen.
Thank you for the flowers.
The most common dative verbs
Person in the dative
- helfenjemandem helfento help
- dankenjemandem dankento thank
- antwortenjemandem antwortento answer
- gratulierenjemandem gratulierento congratulate
- glaubenjemandem glaubento believe someone
- folgenjemandem folgento follow
- zuhörenjemandem zuhörento listen to
- begegnenjemandem begegnento run into
Thing as subject, person in the dative
- gefallengefällt mirI like it
- gehörengehört mirit's mine
- schmeckenschmeckt mirit tastes good to me
- passenpasst mirit fits / suits me
- stehensteht mirit looks good on me
- fehlenfehlt mirI miss it
- wehtuntut mir wehit hurts me
- leidtuntut mir leidI'm sorry
gefallen, schmecken, gehören: the thing is the subject
With these verbs the thing is the subject and the person is in the dative. The verb agrees with the thing, so plural things need a plural verb.
Die Schuhe gefallen mir.
I like the shoes.
Schmeckt dir die Suppe?
Do you like the soup?
Der Film hat uns sehr gut gefallen.
We really liked the film.
With nouns: dem, der, den + -n
Nouns after a dative verb take dative articles. In the plural, the noun itself usually adds -n.
Dative articles
- Masculinedem Vater · einem Vater
- Feminineder Mutter · einer Mutter
- Neuterdem Kind · einem Kind
- Pluralden Kindern
Das Fahrrad gehört meinem Vater.
The bike belongs to my father.
Wir gratulieren den Gewinnern.
We congratulate the winners.
Common mistakes
✗
Ich helfe dich.✓ Ich helfe dir.
helfen takes the dative.
✗
Ich gefalle den Film.✓ Der Film gefällt mir.
The thing you like is the subject.
✗
Die Äpfel schmeckt mir.✓ Die Äpfel schmecken mir.
The verb agrees with the plural thing.
✗
Kannst du mich antworten?✓ Kannst du mir antworten?
antworten takes a dative person.
Questions learners ask
Is helfen dative or accusative?
Dative: Ich helfe dir, Sie hilft ihrem Bruder. The same goes for danken and antworten.
How do you say "I like" with gefallen?
Turn the sentence around: the thing is the subject and you are in the dative. Das Kleid gefällt mir = I like the dress.
What is the difference between gefallen and mögen?
Both mean to like. gefallen is often about how something looks or a first impression; mögen is general liking, especially of food and people.