German · A2 · Family moment
Kind Hands Together in German
Practise kind ways to share school things with your child and their friends. Use geben (give), zeigen (show) and leihen (lend) to say who receives something or is shown something.
What you'll learn
- Ask someone politely to give, show or lend something.
- Use dative articles and possessives for recipients: dem, der, den and deinem.
- Use dative personal pronouns such as mir, dir, ihm and ihr.
- Distinguish the dative recipient from the accusative thing.
German phrases for kind hands together
Bitte gib deinem Bruder den Bleistift.
Please give your brother the pencil.
Gib is the command form of geben when speaking to one child. Deinem Bruder is the dative recipient; den Bleistift is the accusative thing.
Ich gebe dir dein Taschengeld.
I am giving you your pocket money.
Dir means ‘to you’. Dein Taschengeld is the thing being given. German uses the present tense for both ‘I give’ and ‘I am giving’.
Kannst du dem Lehrer deine Hausaufgaben zeigen?
Can you show the teacher your homework?
Dem Lehrer is dative. For a female teacher, use der Lehrerin. With kannst, zeigen goes at the end.
Zeig mir dein neues Lesebuch.
Show me your new reading book.
Zeig is a command to one child. Mir means ‘to me’. Neues has the ending -es in dein neues Lesebuch.
Wir leihen deinem Freund einen Fußball.
We are lending your friend a football.
Deinem Freund is the dative recipient. For a female friend, use deiner Freundin. Einen Fußball is accusative.
Kannst du ihr dein Lineal leihen?
Can you lend her your ruler?
Ihr means ‘to her’ here. Dein Lineal is the thing being lent; leihen goes at the end after kannst.
Ich zeige ihm deine Zeichnung.
I am showing him your drawing.
Ihm means ‘to him’. Deine Zeichnung is the accusative thing being shown.
Bitte gib den Kindern ihre Brotdosen.
Please give the children their lunchboxes.
The dative plural is den Kindern: die becomes den, and Kinder gains -n. Ihre Brotdosen means ‘their lunchboxes’.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
geben
to give
Useful forms: ich gebe, du gibst; command: gib!
zeigen
to show
Useful forms: ich zeige, du zeigst; command: zeig!
leihen
to lend
Use jemandem etwas leihen for ‘lend someone something’. Lending means you expect the thing back.
der Bleistift
pencil
Plural: die Bleistifte.
das Taschengeld
pocket money
Normally used in the singular.
die Hausaufgaben
homework
German normally uses the plural for homework, unlike English.
das Lesebuch
reading book
A book used for reading practice. Plural: die Lesebücher.
der Fußball
football
Here it means the ball. Plural: die Fußbälle.
das Lineal
ruler
Plural: die Lineale.
die Zeichnung
drawing
Plural: die Zeichnungen.
die Brotdose
lunchbox
A box for packed food or snacks. Plural: die Brotdosen.
Who receives what?
With geben, zeigen and leihen, the recipient is dative and the thing is accusative. English often says ‘give someone something’ without ‘to’; German still needs the dative.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Give | jemandem etwas geben | Ich gebe dem Kind den Bleistift. — I give the child the pencil. |
| Show | jemandem etwas zeigen | Ich zeige der Lehrerin das Buch. — I show the teacher the book. |
| Lend | jemandem etwas leihen | Ich leihe dir mein Lineal. — I lend you my ruler. |
Dative articles and possessives
The article or possessive changes to match the recipient’s gender and number. Dative plural nouns usually add -n unless they already end in -n or -s.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | der → dem; dein → deinem | dem Bruder / deinem Bruder — to the brother / to your brother |
| Feminine | die → der; deine → deiner | der Freundin / deiner Freundin — to the friend / to your friend |
| Neuter | das → dem; dein → deinem | dem Kind / deinem Kind — to the child / to your child |
| Plural | die → den; deine → deinen | den Kindern / deinen Kindern — to the children / to your children |
Dative personal pronouns
Use these pronouns instead of naming the recipient. When the thing is a noun phrase, the dative pronoun normally comes before it.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| To me | ich → mir | Zeig mir dein Buch. — Show me your book. |
| To you: one person, informal | du → dir | Ich gebe dir den Ball. — I give you the ball. |
| To him | er → ihm | Ich zeige ihm das Bild. — I show him the picture. |
| To her | sie → ihr | Wir leihen ihr das Lineal. — We lend her the ruler. |
| To us | wir → uns | Zeig uns dein Buch. — Show us your book. |
| To you: several people, informal | ihr → euch | Ich gebe euch die Bücher. — I give you the books. |
| To them | sie → ihnen | Wir geben ihnen die Brotdosen. — We give them the lunchboxes. |
Friendly requests
Use bitte with a command to make it polite. For a gentler request, use Kannst du …? Put the infinitive at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Command to one child | Bitte gib / zeig / leih … | Bitte gib mir den Bleistift. — Please give me the pencil. |
| Question | Kannst du + recipient + thing + infinitive? | Kannst du mir dein Lineal leihen? — Can you lend me your ruler? |
More examples
Bitte gib deiner Schwester das Buch.
Please give your sister the book.
Deiner Schwester is feminine dative.
Kannst du den Kindern deine Zeichnung zeigen?
Can you show the children your drawing?
Den Kindern is plural dative; zeigen comes at the end.
Ja, ich leihe dir meinen Bleistift.
Yes, I’ll lend you my pencil.
Dir is dative. Meinen Bleistift is masculine accusative. German can use the present tense for this offer.