The dative case

The dative is the case of the indirect object and the case that a whole group of prepositions demands. It is also the backbone of every location phrase — so if you want to describe a photo well, this is the article to master.

What the dative is and when you need it

The dative answers 'to whom?' or 'for whom?'. It marks the indirect object — the person who receives something — while the direct object stays in the accusative. In Ech ginn der Fra d'Buch (I give the woman the book), der Fra is dative and d'Buch is accusative.

In practice you will meet the dative most often not through indirect objects but through prepositions. A large group of everyday prepositions forces the dative onto the noun that follows, and the two-way prepositions (op, an, hannert, virun …) take the dative whenever they describe a location. That is why the dative is unavoidable the moment you start describing where things are.

Ech ginn der Fra d'Buch.	I give the woman the book.	der Fra = dative indirect object.
Ech weisen dem Kand d'Bild.	I show the child the picture.	dem Kand = dative.
Hie schreift senger Mamm eng Kaart.	He writes his mother a card.	senger Mamm = dative.

The dative articles

The definite article in the dative has just three forms to learn: dem for both masculine and neuter, der for feminine, and den for the plural. So de Mann and d'Kand both become dem, d'Fra becomes der, and d'Kanner becomes den.

The indefinite article follows the same split: engem for masculine and neuter, enger for feminine. There is no indefinite plural, exactly as in English (you don't say 'a books').

One catch: the plural den obeys the Eifeler Regel and drops to de before most consonants — mat de Kanner, not mat den Kanner. It only keeps the -n before a vowel or before d/h/n/t/z (mat den Elteren).

mat dem Mann / mat dem Kand	with the man / with the child	masculine & neuter → dem.
mat der Fra	with the woman	feminine → der.
mat de Kanner	with the children	plural den → de before a consonant (Eifeler).
mat engem Frënd / mat enger Frëndin	with a friend (m) / a friend (f)	indefinite: engem vs enger.

Try it

Ech schwätze mat Léierin. (eng)

Feminine indefinite dative.

Ech soen Mann Merci. (de)

Masculine definite dative.

Prepositions that take the dative

Seven prepositions always take the dative: mat (with), bei (at/near), vun (from/of), zu (at/to), no (after/to), aus (out of/from) and säit (since/for). There is no exception — the noun after them is dative every time.

Several of them fuse with the article dem or der into a single word, and using the contracted form is what makes you sound natural: an + dem = am, op + dem = um, bei + dem = beim, vun + dem = vum, zu + dem = zum, zu + der = zur, mat + dem = mam, virun + dem = virum, no + dem = nom.

Ech fueren all Dag mam Bus op d'Aarbecht.	I go to work by bus every day.	mat + dem = mam.
Ech war beim Dokter.	I was at the doctor's.	bei + dem = beim.
No der Aarbecht ginn ech akafen.	After work I go shopping.	no + der (feminine).
Ech kommen aus dem Süden vun Italien.	I come from the south of Italy.	aus + dem; vun + place.
Ech wunnen säit engem Joer zu Lëtzebuerg.	I've lived in Luxembourg for a year.	säit + dative; zu + town stays dative.

The dative for describing a photo

In the speaking exam you describe a picture, which means saying where everything is — and every static location phrase runs on the dative. The two-way prepositions op, an, hannert, virun, ënner, niewent and tëschent all take the dative when nothing is moving.

Learn these as ready-made chunks so you don't have to build the case on the fly: um Dësch (on the table), um Bett (on the bed), an der Kichen (in the kitchen), op der Strooss (on the street), hannert dem Haus (behind the house), virum Haus (in front of the house), niewent dem Bett (next to the bed) and tëschent den Haiser (between the houses).

Op dem Bild gesäit een eng Famill an der Kichen.	In the picture you can see a family in the kitchen.	an der (feminine) = location.
D'Kanner spillen hannert dem Haus.	The children are playing behind the house.
Eng Kaz läit um Bett, niewent dem Fënster.	A cat is lying on the bed, next to the window.	op + dem = um.
Virum Haus steet en Auto.	In front of the house there's a car.	virun + dem = virum.

Try it

D'Blummen stinn niewent Fënster. (d')

Neuter dative after a location preposition.