Giving to Someone

Level 2

The dative identifies the person receiving something or benefiting from an action. Dajem knjigu Ani means I am giving the book to Ana.

How It Works

In Ivan daje knjigu Ani., Ivan is the subject, knjigu the direct object and Ani the recipient. Changing word order does not remove these grammatical relationships.

A recipient can be a noun phrase or a short pronoun: Dajem joj knjigu. The clitic joj means to her and has its own placement requirements.

Dative has other uses, including experiencers and the complements of particular verbs. This entry teaches the concrete giving frame; do not define every dative as a literal recipient or insert a recipient into verbs that do not permit one.

Examples (3)

  1. Dajem knjigu Ani.

    I am giving the book to Ana.

    Ani is the dative recipient.

  2. Šaljem poruku prijatelju.

    I am sending a message to a friend.

    Prijatelju names who receives the message.

  3. Kupujem sestri poklon.

    I am buying my sister a gift.

    Sestri is the person who benefits.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Giving to SomeoneLevel 2

Learn This First

Identify the dative role before using a recipient as a participant in a sentence.