Generally, my understanding of the use of dative and accusative is a bit opaque. I am getting better at deciphering which prepositions call for which case. I have also seen that motion is another indicator. If I am not clear, however, is there a resource which I can use to look up a particular word? (I use dict.cc a lot and I don't think it specifies.) Usually I Google "German dative verbs" and use CTRL+F to search for the verb, then assume that if it's not found, it's accusative.
4 Answers
Half of the answer has been given (jdm [or jmdm] Vs. jdn[or jmdn]).
Here two other points to consider.
First, the answer is a little grammar as well. Not all verbs have a fixed case; for instance waschen:
Ich wasche etwas Akk..
but
Ich wasche mir Dat. die Hände.
So you might have to do the analysis by yourself.
Second, etw and sich are also an indicators of dative and accusative. You might also find in dictionaries then
verb+ etw.Akk.or
sichDat.
verb
By the way, don't neglect genitive-objects ;) Not the best way to perform the search, but this one gives you lot of them. Their register is usually gehoben.
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I didn't understand what you mean by etwas and sich are indicators. In dict.cc I see a lot of etwas. Does it tell me which Kasus to use?– MennyNov 10, 2015 at 20:16
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1@Menny Well, sich and etwas tell you you have to use Akk. or Dat. but in dict.cc they don't, to my knowledge, put a superindex telling you which of them you have to use. You have to do the analysis.– c.p.Nov 10, 2015 at 21:54
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Isn't it that "Ich wasche mir Die hände" because "die Hände" is an accusative object so the reflexive part must be dative. Nothing to do with a "rule" about waschen taking dative.– RichieHHMay 6, 2019 at 11:27
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@HörmannHH I don't see any exclusion, because you can "einen Esel jemanden beschimpfen".– c.p.May 6, 2019 at 11:57
dict.cc uses jdn to indicate accusative (for example, see dict.cc on "lehren") and jdmfor dative (see dict.cc on "ausweichen", e.g.). But the indicator may be missing, cf. dict.cc on "verzeihen". Often, the example sentences are giving a hint which grammatical case to use. There's also an explanation of the abbreviations used (but this tells only that jdn means "jemanden", but doesn't explain why those indicators are added to the verbs).
answered May 21, 2014 at 14:19
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Rule of thumb:
nvsmis Akkusativ vs Dativ, that is "jemande(n/m)" is the Akkusativ/Dativ form of "jemand". It's added just likesb.andsth.in English.– RaphaelMay 21, 2014 at 16:25
You can also look up the verb in the free Pons online dictionary. (Pons is one of the better known publishers of dictionaries in Germany). It will list many (but not all) verb patterns, with "jdn/jdm" or "Akk./Dat." etc. for the cases. I recommend learning the patterns and the associated meaninings instead of just the verb (in the same way English students have to learn "to put up with s.th." instead of just "put", you learn "sich (Akk) mit jdm/etw abfinden" instead of "abfinden").
For prepositions that don't belong to a specific verb pattern, mein-deutschbuch has some good lists.
The basic difference to determine the case a verb needs to take is by knowing whether the verb has movement or not. Verbs that have movement take the akkusative case whereas the verbs that are stationary and do not show movement take dative case.
Ich lege das Buch auf den TischaberDas Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. Poor you native English speakers, we Poles do have declination (7 cases, 3 more than in German!); we also have the genders of nouns likedie, der, das, therefore it is easier for us to understand it. Often you also have to learn the government of the verb likedenken an,denken über,warten auforsich wehren gegen.