dative
- Noun:
- The grammatical case marking the indirect object of a verb: In languages with case systems, the dative case is used primarily to indicate the noun or pronoun that is the recipient or beneficiary of the action of the verb. It often answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom?" something is given, shown, told, etc.
The term "dative" is used in the study of grammar and linguistics to describe a specific case function. It is most relevant when discussing languages that have a case system, such as German, Latin, Russian, or Old English. In English, which largely lacks a case system except for pronouns, the dative function is typically expressed using word order (placing the indirect object before the direct object) or the prepositions "to" or "for."
- Noun:
- In the German sentence "Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch" (I give the book to the man), "dem Mann" is in the dative case.
- The Latin word "puellae" (to/for the girl) is the dative form of "puella" (girl).
- In the Old English phrase "ic sealde þæm cyninge þæt sweord" (I gave the king the sword), "þæm cyninge" is in the dative case.
Dative of Interest (Ethical Dative): In some languages, the dative case can be used to indicate a person who has a general interest in the action, even if they are not a direct participant. This is often not directly translatable into English.
- Example (Latin): "Mihi vivit" can be loosely translated as "He lives for me," where "mihi" (to/for me) expresses personal interest.
Dative of Possession: Used in some languages to denote possession, particularly with parts of the body or clothing.
- Example (Latin): "Puella crines longi sunt" literally means "To the girl the hair is long," i.e., "The girl has long hair."
- Dative Case: The full term for the grammatical case.
- Dativize (verb, rare): To put into or use the dative case.
- Indirect Object Case: A descriptive synonym, though "dative" is the standard technical term in linguistics.
- Dative Absolute: A grammatical construction found in some languages (like Old Church Slavonic or Greek), similar to the ablative absolute in Latin, where a noun in the dative case and its participle form an independent clause.
- Dative Shift / Native Alternation: A syntactic process in English where a verb that takes both a direct and an indirect object can appear in two structures: one with a preposition ("give the book to Mary") and one without ("give Mary the book"). The latter is sometimes analyzed as involving a "dative" or indirect object role, even without case marking.
- the category of nouns serving as the indirect object of a verb