Dative

The dative is a grammatical case used in many languages to indicate the noun phrase that receives the action of a verb, most often the indirect object or recipient. It usually answers questions such as to whom, for whom, or for what purpose something is done. In languages with rich inflection, the dative is marked by a distinct case ending on the noun or determiner, and in some languages it is expressed by prepositions such as to or for. In languages with limited inflection, the same relationships are conveyed by word order or prepositions.

Historically a part of the Indo-European case system, the dative appears in Latin, Greek, Germanic languages, and many modern European languages. Its function can include recipient of a transfer, beneficiary or advantage, and sometimes the experiencer of a sentence or the possessor in certain constructions. Examples: in German, Ich gebe dem Mann den Apfel (I give the apple to the man), where dem Mann is in the dative; in Latin, puero librum dedi (I gave the book to the boy). In Russian, the indirect object is marked by the dative: Я дал книгу мальчику (I gave the book to the boy).

In English, the dative is not a distinct inflectional case; the indirect object is expressed either by a double object construction (I gave the man the book) or with a prepositional phrase (I gave the book to the man). The term "dative" is commonly used in grammar to describe these functions, and it is contrasted with the accusative or nominative cases in languages that mark case morphologically.