Dative Case

In Indo-European (IE) grammar, the dative case is the case that marks the indirect object of a verb or, more broadly, the recipient, beneficiary, or target of an action.

Key Idea

The Indo-European dative case always centers on “toward” a person or thing in a non-physical, grammatical sense—the one who receives, benefits, or is affected.

Core Meaning

Across the Indo-European language family, the dative typically expresses ideas such as:

• To whom something is given

“I give the book to the man.”

• For whom something is done

“She baked a cake for her friend.”

• The person affected by an action
• The goal of movement (in some early IE languages)

Examples Across Indo-European Languages

• Latin: dō librum viro — “I give the book to the man” (viro = dative).
• Ancient Greek: δίδωμι τῷ ἀνδρί — same meaning.
• Sanskrit: narāya pustakam dadāmi — “I give the book to the man.”
• Old English: Ic gife þǣm menn bōc — “I give the man the book.”

(Modern English has mostly lost case endings but still keeps dative meaning through word order and prepositions such as to and for.)

Proto-Indo-European

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European (PIE) had a fully developed dative with the same functions: marking the recipient, addressee, or benefactive of an action.