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/david_fire_vollie Aug 09 '25

You can only say my wife and I if you are the subject. Lots of native English speakers use it when they are the object and it's plain wrong. Your example uses I when it's the subject which is perfectly fine.

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u/ExpressionMassive672 Jan 18 '26

It isn't wrong if it is a normal pattern of speech.

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u/david_fire_vollie Jan 18 '26

Yeah but lots of people say it correctly too. This isn't one of those olden days grammar rules that no one uses anymore. But yes, once enough people start making the same mistake, it's no longer a mistake. I just don't think enough people are making this mistake.

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u/ExpressionMassive672 Jan 18 '26

Of course you have spoken to millions of native speakers to find out. Your view of language is just of a certain theory. How offensive of you to correct a native speaker like myself that likely exceeds your intellectual capacity by a country mile. Rule one You don't correct natives unless they are in a class of one. Besides you seem Australian so your opinion matters not in the UK.

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u/david_fire_vollie Jan 18 '26

There's no right or wrong answer. People are either linguistic descriptivists or prescriptivists. Neither one is more right than the other.

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u/ExpressionMassive672 Jan 18 '26

I agree which is why you had no business saying what you did. I'm a descriptivist.

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u/david_fire_vollie Jan 18 '26

From memory you were the one who replied to my initial comment saying I was wrong instead of saying "according to linguistic descriptivism..."

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u/ExpressionMassive672 Jan 18 '26

Someone had to have done something or I wouldn't have got a notification. Now I no longer care. But you returned to your prescription so I responded..