datiivi

The datiivi, or dative, is a grammatical case used in many languages to mark the indirect object of a verb—typically the recipient, beneficiary, or affected party of an action. It is often translated into English as to or for.

In languages with a productive dative case, nouns and pronouns take specific endings to signal the recipient or beneficiary. German, for example, marks the dative with articles and endings like dem Mann (to/for the man). Latin uses the dative to indicate the indirect object, as in puero librum do (I give a book to/for the boy). Russian also uses a dative form to mark the indirect object in many constructions, especially with verbs of giving or telling.

Functions commonly associated with the dative include: the recipient of an action, the beneficiary or disadvantage of an action, and, in some languages, the possessor or experiencer in certain constructions. The dative is often used with verbs of giving, showing, telling, or promises, and with certain prepositional or verbal constructions that express advantage or interest.

Cross-linguistically, the dative behaves differently. Some languages retain a distinct dative case in the full inflection system, while others use prepositional phrases or adapt the meaning through word order and function rather than a separate ending. English, for example, lacks a dedicated dative case and typically expresses this relation with to or for, or by using ditransitive verbs.

In Finnish, the modern standard language has no separate productive dative case; recipient-like meanings are usually expressed with other devices such as the allative form (-lle) or periphrastic constructions.

See also: genitive, accusative, instrumental, communicative case systems.