Definition
dative
adjective
- of, relating to, or being a grammatical case in some languages that typically marks the indirect object of a verb or the object of certain prepositions
Usage: linguistics term; used in descriptions of languages such as Latin, German, and Russian
noun
- the dative case or a word in the dative case
Usage: linguistics term
Examples
- In Latin, the dative case is used for indirect objects.
- The German dative case often appears after certain prepositions like 'mit' and 'zu'.
- Students learning Russian must master the dative form of nouns and adjectives.
- The word 'him' in 'I gave him a book' functions similarly to a dative in English.
- Many Indo-European languages preserve the dative case from their ancient ancestors.