A2 Grammar · Unit 7 · Topic 19 of 46
Word Order with Two Objects
About 3 minutes · examples, common mistakes, Hindi help and practice with answers
In short
Two nouns: dative first. Two pronouns: accusative first.
Ich gebe dem Kollegen das Ladekabel. · Ich gebe es ihm.
When a sentence has a dative and an accusative object, the order depends on whether they are nouns or pronouns.
How it works
- Two nouns: dative before accusative. Ich gebe dem Kollegen das Ladekabel.
- Two pronouns: accusative before dative. Ich gebe es ihm.
- One pronoun, one noun: the pronoun comes first. Ich gebe ihm das Ladekabel. Ich gebe es dem Kollegen.
- Short rule: pronouns before nouns, and between two pronouns, accusative first.
| Objects | Order | Example |
|---|---|---|
| noun + noun | Dat. → Akk. | Ich gebe dem Kollegen das Kabel. |
| pronoun + noun | pronoun first | Ich gebe ihm das Kabel. |
| noun + pronoun | pronoun first | Ich gebe es dem Kollegen. |
| pronoun + pronoun | Akk. → Dat. | Ich gebe es ihm. |
Examples
- Ich gebe dem Kollegen das Ladekabel. (I'm giving my colleague the charging cable.)
- Ich gebe es ihm. (I'm giving it to him.)
- Geeta zeigt ihrer Mutter die Fotos. Sie zeigt sie ihr. (Geeta shows her mother the photos. She shows them to her.)
- Kannst du mir das Buch leihen? – Ja, ich leihe es dir. (Can you lend me the book? – Yes, I'll lend it to you.)
हिंदीदोनों noun हों तो पहले Dativ, फिर Akkusativ। दोनों pronoun हों तो Akkusativ वाला (es, ihn) पहले।
Dativ and Akkusativ in one sentence
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With verbs like geben, schenken and zeigen, the person who receives is in the Dativ and the thing is in the Akkusativ. With two nouns, the Dativ comes first. A pronoun comes before a noun, and when both are pronouns the Akkusativ one goes first.
geben, schenken, zeigen जैसे verbs में जिसे चीज़ मिलती है वह Dativ में होता है, और चीज़ Akkusativ में। दोनों noun हों तो पहले Dativ। Pronoun हमेशा noun से पहले आता है, और दोनों pronoun हों तो Akkusativ वाला (ihn, es) पहले।
Common mistakes
Putting the dative pronoun first with two pronouns: ✗ Ich gebe ihm es. ✓ Ich gebe es ihm.
Practice
Replace both objects with pronouns.
- Ich schenke meiner Schwester das Buch.
- Er schickt seinen Eltern die Fotos.
- Wir erklären dem Gast den Weg.
Show answers
Answers: 1. Ich schenke es ihr. 2. Er schickt sie ihnen. 3. Wir erklären ihn ihm.