what is it?
Some German verbs take two objects at the same time: a dative object (the recipient or indirect object) and an accusative object (the thing being transferred or shown). Common examples are geben (to give), schenken (to give as a gift), zeigen (to show), and erklären (to explain). The order in which these two objects appear depends on whether they are nouns or pronouns.
when to use it
Apply these rules whenever a verb has both a dative and an accusative object in the same clause.
Two noun objects: place the dative noun first, then the accusative noun.
Two pronoun objects: reverse the order — the accusative pronoun comes first, then the dative pronoun.
One pronoun and one noun: the pronoun (regardless of its case) always precedes the noun.
formation
The table below summarises the three patterns. «DAT» = dative object, «ACC» = accusative object.
| situation | order after the verb | example |
|---|---|---|
| two nouns | DAT noun → ACC noun | meinem Bruder das Buch |
| two pronouns | ACC pronoun → DAT pronoun | es ihm |
| pronoun + noun | pronoun → noun | dir die Fotos |
No preposition is needed. German uses case endings to mark the roles of the objects, so there is no equivalent of the English «to» in «give the book to my brother».
examples in context
common pitfalls
Wrong pronoun order (dative before accusative): When both objects are pronouns, learners often keep the dative-first habit from the two-noun rule. *Ich gebe ihm es is incorrect. The accusative pronoun must come first: Ich gebe es ihm.
Adding an unnecessary preposition: English uses «to» to mark the recipient («give the book to my brother»), so learners sometimes write *Ich gebe das Buch zu meinem Bruder. German does not use «zu» here; the dative case alone carries that meaning: Ich gebe meinem Bruder das Buch.
Using dative with kosten, fragen, or lehren: These verbs are exceptions — they take two accusative objects, not a dative and an accusative. *Das kostet mir viel Zeit is wrong; the correct form is Das kostet mich viel Zeit (accusative «mich», not dative «mir»).