The Dative Case: Relationship to Verbs

The dative case has certain restrictions - certain verbs have to be used for there to be an indirect object. In this lesson, we will explore those verbs so that you can be better prepared to locate indirect objects when working with Latin.

Giving, Showing and Telling Verbs

The verbs below are a few examples of verbs that express giving, showing or telling. Sentences which include these verbs usually contain an indirect object in the dative case.

demonstro, demonstrare, demonstravi, demonstratus - to show, point out
do, dare, dedi, datus - to give
narro, narrare, narravi, narratus - to tell, narrate
nuntio, nuntiare, nuntiavi, nuntiatus - to report, announce

Dative with Special Verbs

Certain verbs have a special relationship to the dative. These verbs imply giving, showing or telling and contain a sense of an internal direct object. For instance, the Latin verb imperare means to order, but implies that someone gives an order to someone. In translation, the noun in the dative case will often be translated as though it is a direct object.

**Examples: Dative with Special Verbs**
Dative case example	Dative translation
Senator domino imperat.	The senator commands the master.
Mercator feminae responderat.	The merchant had answered (replied to/responded to) the woman.
Poeta hospitibus paruit.	The poet obeyed the guests.

The three most common special verbs, as illustrated above, are:

impero, imperare, imperavi, imperatus - command, order (implies: give an order to)
pareo, parere, parui, paritus - obey (implies: give obedience to)
respondeo, respondere, respondi, responsus - reply, answer, respond (implies: give a response to)

Not every verb that seems to imply giving, showing or telling uses this construction. For instance, the other verbs that mean command (mandare and iubere) take a direct object. Special verbs will often be marked in the dictionary with a note after the definition: with Dat.

Practice Activities

Activity 1

Activity 2