Ethical Dative

Level 5

Add an unstressed pronoun to show who cares about or is affected by an action: O neno non me come nada means my child will not eat, and that worries me.

How It Works

What it adds

  • O neno non come nada.: The child does not eat anything.
  • O neno non me come nada.: My child will not eat a thing (and I am the one worried).

The person named by the pronoun does not do the action and does not receive it. They are just affected by it.

Forms

Any indirect object form can be used: me, che, lle, nos, vos, lles. It is often me, especially in requests and commands:

  • Coidádeme ben da avoa.: Take good care of grandma for me.
  • Non me sexas mentireiro.: Do not be a liar, please.

Placement

It follows the usual rules: after a positive command (coidádeme), before the verb after non or in a subordinate clause (que te me movas). See commands with pronouns.

Order with other pronouns

When pronouns pile up, the usual order is: dative of solidarity, then indirect object, then ethical dative, then direct object. The reflexive se always comes first. These long chains belong to lively speech.

Only unstressed. The ethical dative cannot be replaced by a phrase like a min; that meaning exists only with the short pronoun.

Examples (6)

  1. O neno non me come nada.

    My child will not eat a thing, and it worries me.

  2. Coidádeme ben da avoa.

    Take good care of grandma for me.

    The command speaks to several people; me shows the speaker cares.

  3. Non me sexas mentireiro.

    Please do not be a liar.

    Me shows that the speaker takes it personally.

  4. Non quero que te me movas de aquí.

    I do not want you moving from here.

    Te belongs to moverse; me is the ethical dative.

  5. Cando lles vivían os pais, estaban mellor.

    When their parents were alive, they were better off.

    Lles shows that the parents being alive mattered to them.

  6. Estudádeme moito este verán!

    Study hard this summer, for my sake!

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the pronoun after the verb after non.

    Non sexasme mentireiro.
    Non me sexas mentireiro.

    After non, the pronoun goes before the verb, just like any other unstressed pronoun.

  • Trying to express the same idea with a stressed pronoun.

    O neno non come nada a min.
    O neno non me come nada.

    The ethical dative exists only as a short pronoun. A min cannot carry this meaning.

  • Starting the command with the pronoun.

    Me coidade ben da avoa.
    Coidádeme ben da avoa.

    In a positive command the pronoun goes after the verb and joins it.

How It Connects

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

Ethical DativeLevel 5

Learn This First

An ethical dative marks someone affected by an event, beyond its required participants.

Words in This Pattern