Word order of dative and accusative

When you use it

1. 1

   Two nouns: dative before accusative

   • Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch.I'm giving the man the book.
   • Sie schenkt ihrer Mutter eine Blume.She's giving her mother a flower.

   Both objects are nouns? The receiver (dative) usually comes first, then the thing (accusative).

2. 2

   Two pronouns: accusative before dative

   • Ich gebe es dir.I'm giving it to you.
   • Er bringt sie mir.He's bringing it to me.

   Both objects are pronouns, like es, ihn, mir or dir? Then the accusative comes first.

3. 3

   Pronoun and noun: pronoun first

   • Ich gebe es dem Mann.I'm giving it to the man.
   • Ich gebe ihm das Buch.I'm giving him the book.

   One pronoun and one noun? The pronoun comes first, whatever its case.

The forms

Step by step

1. 1

   Find the two objects

   The receiver, usually a person, is the dative. The thing you give is the accusative.

   • Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch.dem Mann = receiver (dative), das Buch = thing (accusative)
2. 2

   Nouns or pronouns?

   Check if each object is a noun (dem Mann, das Buch) or a pronoun (ihm, es).

   • dem Mann → ihm, das Buch → esthe man → him, the book → it
3. 3

   Put them in order

   Two nouns: dative first. Two pronouns: accusative first. One of each: the pronoun first.

   • Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch.I'm giving the man the book.
   • Ich gebe es dir.I'm giving it to you.
   + 1 more example

Common mistakes

• ✕ Ich gebe das Buch dem Mann. (as a neutral sentence)

  ✓ Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch.

  Normal order with two nouns: dative first. The other order stresses who gets it.

• ✕ Ich gebe dir es.

  ✓ Ich gebe es dir.

  With two pronouns, the accusative (es) comes before the dative (dir).

• ✕ Er bringt mir sie.

  ✓ Er bringt sie mir.

  Two pronouns: accusative (sie) first, then dative (mir).

• An object in position 1+
• Two nouns: new information last+

Don't mix it up