1

I came across this sentence which has 2 datives:

Er hilft seinem Nachbarn bei der Reparatur des Autos.

Is it possible to do so?

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    Why do you think it can be not possible? – Eller Aug 17 '18 at 7:17
  • @Eller Perhaps the question would, could or should have been: are there cases where a verb has not one but two dative objects? Which I would tend to answer by "no". But I am anxious to hear an expert's opinion. – Christian Geiselmann Aug 17 '18 at 9:13
  • @ChristianGeiselmann Nearly: "Gib mir bloß dem Bettler kein Geld" – tofro Aug 17 '18 at 21:41
7

Sure it is - one of the datives is caused by the verb "helfen" that rules the dative, the other one by the preposition "bei" which wants the dative as well.

There is no rule that limits the number of cases in a sentence and you can add more, especially when you use prepositions. Want more datives?:

Er hilft seinem Freund bei der Reparatur des Autos mit dem größten Hammer, den er im Werkzeugkasten finden konnte.

Improve this answer
5

The phrase is grammatically correct. But there is only one "Dativobjekt".

Er: Subjekt

hilft: Prädikat

seinem Nachbarn: Dativobjekt

bei der Reparatur des Autos: Adverbiale Bestimmung

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.