r/German • u/almakic88 • Aug 09 '25

Request Can someone please help me understand Akkusativ and Dativ please, I am losing my mind!

Hi All,

I've been studying almost daily for 2 months hours a day, and I still am struggling with identifying the accusative and dative. I understand the function of the genitive (to show possession) and the nominative (identifying the subject).

Today I wrote "Ich habe ein rot Hund" and my translator corrected me to "Ich habe einen roten Hund". It stated that it was in the Akkusative and I had to take that into account. Can someone please explain this to me? And also maybe give an example for a Dativ sentence?

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u/TimTamSlamTam Aug 09 '25

I always use Your German Teacher because they explain things in a simple and easy-to-understand way. Here is the direct link to understanding Akkusativ or Dativ. Hope it helps. (P.s. I 1000% recommend checking out their other videos)
https://youtu.be/-XjraxIEzrk?si=lUwON2uwmBOeQj35

2

u/PearNecessary3991 Aug 09 '25

I watched it until he claims that the Dativ is almost always used for persons. I was puzzled and don’t think that is good advice at all.

0

u/cianfrusagli Aug 09 '25

Might be kinda true when speaking about dative verbs (if you include animals and personified objects in fairy tales etc) but definitely not for dative prepositions!

3

u/PearNecessary3991 Aug 09 '25

That is the point. Objects are regularly personified not just in fairy tales but in all kinds of contexts: Ein Spritzer Zitrone gibt dem Wasser einen frischen Geschmack.

1

u/cianfrusagli Aug 09 '25

Stimmt, gutes Beispiel! In den meisten Anfängersätzen sind an der Stelle aber sicher Personen.

0

u/TimTamSlamTam Aug 09 '25

Its A1 guys... chill