Verben mit Dativ (helfen, antworten, schmecken, passen …)

A2 German grammar — Dative verbs. Some common verbs take a **dative object** (the person who is helped, answered, or to whom something 'tastes' or 'fits')…

Open chapter: Verben mit Dativ

Rule explained

Some common verbs take a **dative object** (the person who is helped, answered, or to whom something 'tastes' or 'fits'). The dative answers *Wem?* (to/for whom). Common A2 verbs: *helfen* (help), *antworten* (answer), *schmecken* (taste, for the person), *passen* (suit / fit), *gehören* (belong to), *gefallen* (please / like the thing). Compare: *Ich helfe dem Kind.* (I help the child – dative) vs *Ich sehe den Mann.* (I see the man – accusative).

Examples

Use these mini-pairs as templates:

• Ich helfe meiner Mutter. — I help my mother.
• Die Suppe schmeckt mir gut. — The soup tastes good to me.
• Die Jacke passt dir nicht. — The jacket doesn't fit you.
• Das Buch gehört meinem Bruder. — The book belongs to my brother.

Common mistakes

Watch out for these learner errors:

• Using accusative after *helfen*: *Ich helfe den Freund* (wrong) → *Ich helfe dem Freund*.
• Confusing *gefallen* (the thing pleases the person) with English 'I like': *Der Film gefällt mir* = I like the film.