Prepositions With the Dative

Level 2

Mat (with), bei (at, near), vun (from, of), no (after), zu (to, at), aus (out of, from) and zanter (since) take the dative: mat menger Mamm.

How It Works

The prepositions

  • mat – with, by: mat menger Mamm, mam Bus
  • bei – at, near, at someone's place: bei sengen Elteren, beim Dokter
  • vun – from, of: vun der Aarbecht, vu menger Frëndin
  • no – after: no der Schoul, nom Iessen
  • zu – to, at: zu Fouss (on foot), zu Lëtzebuerg
  • aus – out of, from: aus der Stad
  • zanter or zënter – since, for: zanter dem Summer, see zanter

Dative forms
Articles: dem, der, den (de), and engem, enger, see dem/der/den (dative). Possessives: mengem, menger, mengen, see possessives in the dative. Pronouns: mir, dir, him, hir, eis, iech, hinnen, see mir/dir/him/hir (dative).

Contractions
Before dem, the preposition and the article usually merge: mam, vum, beim, zum, nom. See am/um/vum/mam/beim.

Vun instead of a genitive
Luxembourgish has no genitive case, so vun + dative often shows who something belongs to: den Auto vu mengem Papp. By the n-rule, vun becomes vu before most consonants.

Bei with movement
Bei takes the dative for where someone is: Ech si beim Dokter. When you go to a person, it takes the accusative: Ech gi bei den Dokter. See going places: an/op/bei.

Examples (6)

  1. Ech gi mat menger Mamm akafen.

    I am going shopping with my mum.

    Word by Word: I go with my mum shopping.

    Mamm is feminine, so after mat the possessive is menger.

  2. Si kënnt aus der Stad.

    She is coming from town.

    Word by Word: She comes out of the town.

    Stad is feminine, so the dative article is der.

  3. No der Schoul spille mer Fussball.

    After school we play football.

    Word by Word: After the school play we football.

    The no phrase comes first, so the verb follows it directly.

  4. De Student wunnt nach bei sengen Elteren.

    The student still lives with his parents.

    Word by Word: The student lives still at his parents.

    In the plural the dative possessive ends in -en. Sengen keeps its n before the vowel of Elteren.

  5. De Bréif ass vu menger Frëndin.

    The letter is from my friend.

    Word by Word: The letter is from my friend.

    Vun becomes vu before the m of menger by the n-rule.

  6. Mir fuere mam Bus an d'Stad.

    We are going into town by bus.

    Word by Word: We drive with-the bus into the town.

    Mam is the usual short form of mat dem.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative or accusative form after mat.

    Ech gi mat meng Mamm akafen.
    Ech gi mat menger Mamm akafen.

    Mat always takes the dative. With a feminine noun the possessive becomes menger.

  • Using an accusative pronoun after a dative preposition.

    Kënns du mat mech an de Kino?
    Kënns du mat mir an de Kino?

    After mat, bei, vun, no, zu and aus, the pronoun takes its dative form: mir, dir, him, hir, eis, iech, hinnen.

  • Keeping the n of vun before a consonant.

    De Bréif ass vun menger Frëndin.
    De Bréif ass vu menger Frëndin.

    By the n-rule, vun becomes vu before m and most other consonants. It keeps the n before a vowel and before d, h, n, t and z: vun der Aarbecht.

How It Connects

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Prepositions With the DativeLevel 2

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Before Prepositions With the Dative, learn Dative Pronouns.

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Words in This Pattern

matbeivunzuauszënter