DativErgänzung

DativErgänzung refers to a specific type of grammatical complement in German that is required by certain verbs or prepositions. This complement, known as the dative object, always appears in the dative case. The dative case in German indicates the indirect object of a verb or the object of a preposition that governs the dative. Verbs that frequently require a DativErgänzung include those indicating giving, showing, telling, helping, or thanking. For example, in the sentence "Ich gebe dem Mann ein Buch" (I give the man a book), "dem Mann" is the DativErgänzung, indicating to whom the book is given. Some prepositions also exclusively or optionally take the dative case, thus functioning as triggers for a DativErgänzung when used. Examples of such prepositions include "mit" (with), "nach" (after/to), and "zu" (to). Understanding the DativErgänzung is crucial for correct German sentence construction, as its presence is often dictated by the semantic and syntactic requirements of the governing verb or preposition. Failure to include a required DativErgänzung can lead to grammatically incorrect or unclear sentences.