A guide for Australians on german verbs with dative.
## 25. German Verbs with Dative: The Ones Australians Always Get Wrong Most German learners know that the direct object takes the accusative. What catches people out is a group of German verbs that take a dative object instead — and they are the most commonly used verbs in German. Here they are with examples and explanations. ### Why These Verbs Are Different Most transitive verbs (verbs with objects) take the accusative: *Ich sehe **den** Mann* (I see **the** man — accusative). But a specific group of verbs — mostly expressing attitudes, helping, belonging, or interaction — take the dative instead. The logic (where there is one): these verbs often have a sense of *for* or *to* someone rather than a direct action *on* someone. ### The Core List **helfen** — to help - *Ich helfe **dem** Kind.* — I help the child. - *Kann ich **dir** helfen?* — Can I help you? **danken** — to thank - *Ich danke **Ihnen** sehr.* — I thank you very much. - *Ich möchte meiner Mutter danken.* — I would like to thank my mother. **gefallen** — to please / to like (literally "to be pleasing to") - *Das gefällt **mir**.* — I like that. (Literally: That is pleasing to me.) - *Wie gefällt **dir** Berlin?* — How do you like Berlin? Note: *gefallen* is structurally inverted from English "like." The thing you like is the subject; the person who likes it is in the dative. **gehören** — to belong to - *Das Buch gehört **mir**.* — The book belongs to me. - *Wem gehört **dem** Hund?* — Who does the dog belong to? **glauben** — to believe (when followed by a person) - *Ich glaube **dir**.* — I believe you. - *Er glaubt **mir** nicht.* — He doesn't believe me. **folgen** — to follow - *Folgen Sie **mir**, bitte.* — Follow me, please. **passen** — to fit / to suit - *Das passt **mir** nicht.* — That doesn't suit me. / That doesn't fit me. - *Passt das **dir**?* — Does that work for you? **schmecken** — to taste (good to someone) - *Das schmeckt **mir** sehr gut.* — That tastes very good to me. / I really enjoy this. - *Schmeckt **dir** das?* — Do you enjoy this? **fehlen** — to be missing / to miss (be missed by) - *Du fehlst **mir**.* — I miss you. (Literally: You are missing to me.) - *Was fehlt **dir**?* — What's wrong? / What are you missing? **schaden** — to harm / to damage - *Das schadet **der** Umwelt.* — That damages the environment. **nützen** — to be useful to - *Das nützt **mir** nichts.* — That's of no use to me. ### The Dative Personal Pronouns Since these verbs always take dative, you need the dative forms of personal pronouns: | Nominative | Dative | |-----------|--------| | ich | mir | | du | dir | | er | ihm | | sie (she) | ihr | | es | ihm | | wir | uns | | ihr | euch | | sie (they) / Sie | ihnen / Ihnen | ### Practical Tips **gefallen / schmecken / passen / fehlen pattern:** These four work similarly — the thing/person doing the action is the grammatical subject, and the person experiencing it is in the dative. *Das Essen schmeckt mir.* — The food tastes good to me. *Die Schuhe passen mir.* — The shoes fit me. *Berlin gefällt mir.* — I like Berlin. *Du fehlst mir.* — I miss you. Once you recognise this pattern, all four become logical.Found this useful? Share it with other Australians learning German 🇦🇺
AD
AussieDeutsch
B1 German / Beginner Swiss German
An Australian who learned German to B1 level without living in Germany — navigating the same lack of local resources that most Australian learners face. Currently learning Swiss German. This site is the resource I wished had existed when I started.
Get new German learning guides in your inbox
No spam. New articles for Australian German learners only.